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Canon i-Sensys MF735Cxhttp://www.techradar.com/reviews/canon-i-sensys-mf735cx
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/canon-i-sensys-mf735cxThis is a fully-featured multifunction printer with an impressive turn of speed.Wed, 13 Dec 2017 21:00:40 +0000techradar.comThis is a fairly large unit for an A4 printer with no provision for A3 paper, but it does offer a lot of features at its recommended price point of £599 (around $800). Printing, scanning, copying and faxing are the four basic functions of a 4-in-1 multifunction device, but Canon has included some sophisticated extras in the shape of a 5-inch tilting color touchscreen, a dual-sided document scanner, a 50-sheet multi-purpose tray and a deep 250-page paper tray.

A set of four toner cartridges is included and Canon has increased their yield, so you can expect to churn out a claimed 6,300 black and white pages, or 5,000 color documents before running out of toner.

The idea is to keep your staff members working quickly, and that’s achieved by the impressive 27 ppm print rate, but further boons to productivity include dual-sided scanning, duplex printing and the ability to create shortcut buttons on the touchscreen. Using the virtual interface, you can edit the buttons that appear and add one to trigger a command that you use often, such as printing a particular commonly-needed document.

Design and build

The Canon i-Sensys MF735Cx can stand on a desk in this basic configuration we’re reviewing, but it has a big footprint for an A4 model, and if you add the optional 550-page paper tray, it will certainly want its own low table. With all of its flaps folded away, it looks like a neat and considered design.

It’s a lot smaller than A3 MFD’s like the high-end Xerox VersaLink C7020, but the form factor is similar. Aside from the dual-sided document scanner on top, you lift to reveal the scanner bed in the same way, and documents are delivered into the middle of the machine. The main paper tray is a drawer at the bottom, while a flap at the front reveals the 50-sheet multi-purpose tray.

Behind the front flap is a second drop-down flap which reveals the drawers of toner, which were pre-installed in our case. Another flap at the rear of the machine gives you access in the event of a paper jam.

Connectivity includes an Ethernet port, modem ports for faxing, and both Type-A and Type-B USB ports. There’s another USB 3.0 port at the front, but no provision for an SD card, as you might find on Canon’s consumer inkjet models.

Features

There’s not much this fully featured four-in-one MFD cannot do, once you rule out printing on A3 paper of course. Envelopes, glossy photo paper and all kinds of paper stock seem to fit somewhere, and sensors in each tray successfully identify where you loaded your latest document or sheet.

This machine can print at an impressive top speed of 27 ppm, and it can print on both sides of the page, while scanning is also dual-sided. This is a more exotic feature and it works well here, saving a lot of time when you have a pile of double-sided pages to duplicate.

You can send scans to a USB stick, email, or the cloud, and you can even set up a shortcut on the touchscreen in order to allow you to do this at any time with just a couple of button presses. Photos can be scanned at an enhanced resolution of 9,600 x 9,600 dpi, which beats most laser MFDs.

If continuous printing is important to your business, then the MF735Cx will impress with its 250-sheet capacity (expandable to 800 with an extra drawer) and 50-sheet multifunction tray, while the toner cartridges can print 6,500 mono pages, or 5,000 in color before needing replacement.

Setup and operation

Setup is fairly straightforward and should not require IT support so long as you set up your profile successfully and follow prompts from the touchscreen interface.

The display is sharp and colorful, but frustratingly insensitive when it comes to typing. You are frequently asked to type in ID and PIN details, but you have to be very slow and precise, and, above all, patient when doing this, or your finger-press won’t be registered.

For more fine tuning and preference setting you can type the machine’s IP address into your browser and use your computer and Canon’s virtual interface, which is slightly more user-friendly.

The companion app for portable devices, called Canon Print Business, offers the slickest user interface, and it is, of course, a free download. If you’re using Android, you can simply touch your smartphone or tablet on the printer’s NFC sensor to sync devices and print documents. iPhone users are also catered for, but with no NFC, you need to call up the printer’s QR code on the touchscreen, so that you can scan it and thereby sync the two devices.

Performance

Like so many laser printers, the MF735Cx can turn out remarkably faithful black and white pages, and at a remarkable speed. However, at up to 27 ppm, this is one of the fastest we’ve come across, and it’s hard to find fault with its crisp copies.

Color documents appear just as quickly and look no less consistent, although when it comes to photographs, the colors tend to look blocky and less vibrant. Even on glossy photo paper, photographs tend to look flat. It’s actually much better at scanning photos because in Enhanced mode, the capture resolution is so high.

We especially liked the way this device can scan and copy both sides of a document, which could save a lot of time if you have a stack of two-sided pages to copy. And then there’s the customizable touchscreen, which allowed us to add buttons that could complete pre-programmed tasks, like scanning to email, by hitting that personalized command.

Our only real problem with Canon’s MF735Cx is its unintuitive user interface coupled with an unresponsive touchscreen. This meant that some of the time saved by fast-printing and dual-sided scanning was lost by mistyping PINs and passwords using the sluggish on-screen keypad.

Final verdict

This speedy multifunction laser printer is well suited to busy small and medium-sized offices due to its high capacity for ink and paper, and its prompt warm-up and print speeds.

Tricks like dual-sided scanning and the ability to add shortcut commands to its touchscreen are also features that translate directly into time saved at the printer. The touchscreen and interface leave room for improvement, but they’re not enough of a niggle to stop us recommending the Canon i-Sensys MF735Cx to any SMB.

]]>MSI Trident 3http://www.techradar.com/reviews/msi-trident-3
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/msi-trident-3The MSI Trident 3 might be a small form-factor gaming PC, but it packs a wallop of performance.Tue, 12 Dec 2017 22:30:13 +0000techradar.comOver the years, MSI has introduced some amazingly small PCs, including a game-ready Mac Pro competitor and a VR-ready backpack PC. Still, even among all of these achievements, the MSI Trident 3 stands out as MSI’s sleekest gaming PC to date.

Marketed as a console-killer, the MSI Trident 3 is about the size of an Xbox One S but packs a ton more power than even the PS4 Pro. This is thanks to its desktop Intel Core i7 processor and Nvidia GTX 1070 graphics. It’s a tantalizing package – and at a reasonable price, too – which makes the Trident 3 one of the best gaming PCs to have in your living room.

Price and availability

The MSI Trident 3, in the configuration you see above runs for $1,599 (about £1,160, AU$2,040). This particular unit MSI sent us is a limited-edition Arctic edition of the Trident 3, which comes with a special white paint job and a Nvidia GTX 1070 you’ll only find on this model.

Shoppers can pick up the standard black version of the Trident 3 with the same processor and other specs, but it only maxes out with Nvidia GTX 1060 graphics at $1,099 (£1,099, about AU$1,450).

Regardless, it’s still far and above more affordable than comparable compact gaming PCs on the market. The similar Corsair One model starts at $1,799 (£1,799, AU$2,639) with nearly identical specs, save for a 16GB smaller SSD and liquid-cooling solution for the processor.

Meanwhile, the Zotac Magnus EN1080 is another limited edition run compact gaming PC that retails for $1,999 (£1,999, AU$3,849). And that price doesn’t even account for the storage and memory you’ll need to purchase separately for this mostly barebones package.

Design

Maybe it’s the beautiful white design or the silver base, but the MSI Trident 3 Arctic looks like the Nintendo Wii’s bigger, more hardcore brother. Not that we’re complaining. The compact PC is aesthetically pleasing with a design that successfully toes the line between futuristic and modern without being too garish.

Fortunately, MSI has kept the RGB lighting tasteful rather than going overboard like some other manufacturers. You’ll only find one tasteful lighting element on a corner in the shape of, well, a trident to keep in line with the PC’s namesake. We also love the prismatic style of the gaming desktop. All the asymmetric angles helped keep the Trident 3 from becoming just another boring box.

Speaking of size, the Trident 3 is one of the smallest gaming PCs we’ve reviewed. Measuring in at 13.63 x 2.83 x 9.15 inches, it won’t stick out like a sore thumb from the rest of your home entertainment setup. We can’t say the same for the Corsair One, which looks like a modern fridge pack of soda, or the flamboyant Asus ROG GR8 II.

Upgradability and performance

Sick style is one thing, but what MSI has done with the internal layout within the Trident 3 is even more impressive. You get a full-fledged desktop processor and graphics card here – in spite of the desktop’s extremely compact size.

Even further, the Trident 3’s straightforward layout makes it easy enough to replace most of the components including the GPU, memory, storage drives – basically everything but the processor.

The one drawback that we can think of is that the power supply is basically the fat brick you get with any of MSI’s gaming laptops. It’s an annoying trade off that comes with the compact nature of mini-desktops like this and the Acer Predator G1. This non-upgradeable 330W capacity PSU also makes it difficult to truly overclock the system, and you’ll have to pay particular attention to the power draw of the parts you're itching to replace.

Whether these are actual concerns to the console gaming audience this gaming PC aims to serve will depend on the individual user. Most Trident 3 users will be happy with a system that just works out of the box and can play games at high-to-ultra quality settings.

Regardless of the omission of the higher-end Nvidia GTX 1080, found in the Corsair One and Zotac Magnus EN1080, the MSI Trident 3 still manages to all but keep up with its competitors. The compact gaming desktop delivers a playable experience across multiple titles, including GTA V and Mass Effect Andromeda, with Ultra-quality settings. The Trident also produced nearly identical results as the equally-equipped (and larger) MSI Aegis 3.

What’s even more impressive, is that the Trident 3 stays nearly silent and cool even while under full load. Fan noise is almost inaudible even while sitting within a foot and a half of the PC. Users should be able to introduce this silent gaming PC into their home entertainment setup without fear of adding unwanted noise to their gaming and movie audio.

Final verdict

The MSI Trident 3 is a handsome and compact gaming PC we would gladly add to our home entertainment setup. Between the styling of the case and its size, MSI’s mini desktop isn’t all that different than anXbox One orPS4. It’s not the most powerful desktop rig in the world, but it’s got more than enough gusto to play games at higher graphics settings than the PS4 Pro can push.

The notebook-style power supply limits the upgradability of this system, but with what comes in the box, you can go far with gaming at Ultra quality. The most delightful thing about the Trident 3 is how cool and silently it runs. This is by far one of the best gaming PCs you can have sit alongside your TV or on a small computer desk.

]]>Microsoft Surface Book 2 (15-inch)http://www.techradar.com/reviews/microsoft-surface-book-2
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/microsoft-surface-book-2The best 2-in-1 laptop to date is just a bigger Surface Book that’s more powerful and longer-lasting than ever.Tue, 12 Dec 2017 22:04:00 +0000techradar.comAlthough we loved it, you can’t deny that the original Surface Book was divisive to say the least. The dynamic fulcrum hinge deserved the spotlight for some, but for others, it was a wonky design choice that made Microsoft’s first laptop, regrettably, harder to love.

The bad news is that the hinge is back in full force. The good news is that not only is it sturdier, but the Surface Book 2 is wholly better than its predecessor. Not only that, but you can now get it in both 13-inch and 15-inch configurations, of which there are seven in total. They cost less than a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar to start, but the price can be hiked immensely from there.

That’s especially the case with the 15-inch version, which we’ve reviewed here, though we’ve also reviewed the 13.5-inch Surface Book 2 for the sake of comparisons. In the following paragraphs, you may be shocked to find out that the difference is more than 1.5 inches of display real estate. There are some major spec differences to be had here, as Microsoft attempts to justify the $1,000 premium of the 15-inch Surface Book 2.

Price and availability

Surprising no one, the 15-inch Surface Book 2 is a hugely expensive laptop, with the configuration we’ve tested coming in at a crazy $3,299 (about £2,503, AU$4,341). Naturally, this is the highest end that the Surface Book 2 gets, with the entry-level model starting at a still-steep $2,499 (about £1,847, AU$3,288) – its only difference being a much smaller 256GB SSD inside.

Sadly, the 15-inch version of the Surface Book 2 won’t be available in the UK or Australia until 2018, we’re told.

The 13.5-inch version starts at $1,499 (£1,499, AU$2,199) for a 7th-generation Kaby Lake Intel Core i5 processor with integrated graphics and 256GB of storage – getting the Nvidia GTX 1050 graphics and 8th-generation Intel Core i7 CPU will cost you $1,999 (£1,999, AU$2,999), with each storage option from there costing another 500 bills in all currencies.

The 13.5-inch version of the Surface Book 2 is different enough from the 15-inch version that we felt it warranted a separate review, explaining our deliberate choice to write one. Likewise, there’s a vast distinction in the financial barrier of entry as well.

Keep in mind that none of these prices include Microsoft’s $99 (£99, AU$139) Surface Pen. And yes, we will keep calling Microsoft out on this until it begins bundling this nigh-crucial accessory in with the price of its Surface devices again.

For comparison’s sake, Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar starts at $2,399 (£2,349, AU$3,499) for a 7th-generation Intel Core i7 processor an AMD Radeon Pro 555 graphics chip with 2GB of VRAM, 16GB of memory and a 256GB SSD – all powering a 2,880 x 1,800-pixel 15.4-inch display at 220 pixels per inch as well as an OLED Touch Bar.

For another 100 bucks, you’re getting a more up-to-date processor and far stronger graphics powering a sharper display with touch control that detaches and acts as a tablet. Not accounting for personal taste, it’s tough to dispute that the Surface Book 2 is the better value here.

For a similarly premium, albeit far less versatile, laptop experience, the Dell XPS 15 starts at a much more approachable $999 (£1,429, AU$2,209) for 7th-generation Intel Core processors and Nvidia GTX 1050 graphics at higher-end configurations.

Design

It’s no understatement to say that, from a look and feel perspective, Microsoft simply took the original Surface Book and blew it up in all dimensions to make the Surface Book 2 a 15-inch device in all its brushed aluminum splendor. While Microsoft clearly put a lot of effort in vastly increasing the laptop’s power profile and screen technology, this is, in many ways, simply a bigger Surface Book.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, mind you. Microsoft has clearly taken what it had learned from the Surface Book i7 and went to town with it, crafting a power-packed 15-inch laptop that’s actually rather light. Better yet, when detached from its base, this is the lightest-feeling 15-inch tablet we’ve ever tested – to the point that it feels deceptively small in our hands.

That said, the Surface Book 2’s fulcrum hinge does make for a laptop that’s a little more unwieldy to cram into a backpack than most, and it’s now more pronounced than ever. Worse still, Microsoft didn’t do much design-wise with the extra space that 15 inches affords you.

For instance, the glass trackpad isn’t quite as wide or deep as, say, the 15-inch MacBook Pro’s when it very well could have been, given the space. Also, the lack of up-firing stereo speakers in the base is a glaring omission, with ample space on all three remaining sides of the keyboard for extra audio chambers.

Instead, we’re stuck with rather tinny, albeit front-firing, speakers on the tablet portion of the device. The bigger keyboard base should offer us bigger everything, frankly, not just bigger graphics. Worse yet is that the audio jack is still in the same weird, upper-right-edge position it’s always been, dangling over our hands and distracting us while typing.

Speaking of which, typing on the Surface Book 2 is a pleasure, with a brightly backlit keyboard that demonstrates deep-enough travel and punchy feedback. However, in our view, the feedback could stand to be a touch more forceful – but that could be down to personal taste.

All told, we like the Surface Book 2 (15-inch) design quite a bit – even its 1080p webcam and rear camera should impress at the next meeting or in your Instagram feed. But, we can’t ignore the missed opportunities to refine the product that much further and make the experience that much bigger when it comes to how it feels, looks and sounds.

Display and Surface Pen

Of course, we’re just as in love with the Surface Book 2 (15-inch) display as we were with the previous two models. Text looks crisp on the screen as do photos and video, even if the 3:2 aspect ratio makes for some awfully thick black bars during the latter.

The display’s resolution is nigh-unmatched short of 4K laptops, and Apple’s MacBook displays can’t hold a candle to it pixel for pixel. While Apple’s P3 color gamut might tower over Microsoft’s panel in the eyes of art and media pros, we don’t see much difference between the two in regards to color reproduction.

We’re told that Microsoft devoted quite a bit of effort to improving the touch response in its latest PixelSense display for the Surface Book 2, and it shows in testing. If any lag between drawing on the screen with the Surface Pen and its appearance on the screen was there before, it’s certainly imperceptible now.

In fact, if you scribble on a sticky note and run the Surface Pen off of the note window – you’ll see traces of ink appear on whatever is there, though it will almost immediately disappear. That’s a special processor rendering the ink before even Windows 10 does, we’re told, which should speak to the absence of latency in the touchscreen.

Plus, attaching and detaching the display from the keyboard base is as speedy as you’d expect from a wildly expensive computing device. Whether it’s going into tablet mode or back into a laptop, it’s less than a second before you’re successfully tapping or typing away.

At any rate, the Surface Book 2 screen goes to show that Microsoft can craft displays worthy of comparison against the technology world’s greatest in basically every metric.

To say that the Surface Book 2 is powerful would be selling Microsoft’s latest laptop short. Simply put, this is the strongest 2-in-1 laptop we’ve ever tested, ready to go toe-to-toe with not only every hybrid laptop on the market but a wide range of gaming laptops, too.

As you can see through the benchmarks, the Nvidia GTX 1060 graphics inside the laptop’s base are more than enough to handle the very latest games at 1080p resolution. (We saw more than playable frame rates in both of these benchmarked games at native resolution, too.) Those aren’t words we generally put to paper regarding Surface devices, much less any 2-in-1 laptops.

Nor should gaming be the reason you purchase a Surface Book 2. Frankly, you could get the same experience for far cheaper and spend that extra cash on games or even an external GPU box plus a graphics card. Though, few laptops will keep as cool as this one under pressure, thanks mostly to its split design keeping the CPU and GPU apart.

That said, Microsoft included the Xbox Wireless radio – which allows it to communicate with Xbox One controllers natively – for a reason. That is, for a cross section of designers or media pros and gamers that would be served well by a device that can do it all.

At this point, it should go without saying that the Surface Book 2 (15-inch) handles our normal, workload with aplomb, barely seeing its quad-core CPU and 16GB of RAM break a sweat. You’d have to try hard to cripple this laptop, is what we’re saying.

Battery life

Considering that point, the fact that this laptop lasted longer in PCMark 8’s battery test than just about any 2-in-1 laptop we’ve tested to date is just downright impressive. A score of 7 hours and 39 minutes in this historically punishing test is unheard of in the TechRadar offices, especially considering the previous model lasted for less than half that long.

This figure is testament to the sheer amount of battery afforded to the Surface Book 2 (15-inch) by its larger size and the nature of its design. Microsoft promises up to 17 hours of battery life from the 15-inch Surface Book 2 over local video playback.

We’ll be putting this to the test as soon as possible, as we weren’t able to test the Surface Book 2 battery in this capacity in the time allotted for this review. Stay tuned for an update in the coming days regarding just this.

In the meantime, know that the Surface Book 2 is already shaping up to be one of the longest-lasting laptops we’ve ever tested.

We liked

From its immense power to its impressively long battery life, we’re very impressed by the Surface Book 2. The display is a delight to look at much less handle in tablet mode, not to mention touch and stylus response is just stellar. Being able to game on this device is just a cherry on the top.

We disliked

For all of its major wins, we wish Microsoft did more with the 15 inches of space in regards to the Surface Book 2 design. We would have liked to have seen larger speakers in the base of the laptop and a larger trackpad given the increased frame. Also, we’ll never stop being miffed by the fact that Microsoft doesn’t include the Surface Pen in the price of the device.

Final verdict

All in all, the 15-inch Surface Book 2 is the most powerful and versatile 2-in-1 laptop we’ve ever tested, but it’s not a perfect device. There are a few missed opportunities in Microsoft simply taking the original Surface Book and making it bigger, at least chassis design-wise.

That said, we recognize the hard work and engineering that went into crafting this device. The proof is in its nigh-unparalleled performance and longevity, not to mention its good looks and tactile feel when held in the hand as either a laptop or a tablet.

Of course, you’ll pay dearly for all of the aforementioned accolades, which we’d say is well worth it for the creative pros (or anyone who’s rich enough) out there that can swing it. The price is steep for the best 2-in-1 laptop to date, but remember you’re getting the cream of the crop in 2-in-1 laptop design by the folks that defined the category.

]]>Microsoft Surface Bookhttp://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/laptops-portable-pcs/laptops-and-netbooks/microsoft-surface-book-1306306/review
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/laptops-portable-pcs/laptops-and-netbooks/microsoft-surface-book-1306306/reviewWindows 10 updates and leaks are making the Surface Book even more enticing.Tue, 12 Dec 2017 22:04:00 +0000techradar.comHybrid. Powerhouse. Influencer. These are but a few words that describe the Surface Book, the first-ever laptop to come from the offices of Microsoft in Redmond, Washington. Since entering the market in October 2015, it’s seen not only success both critically and commercially, but it’s also inspired other hardware makers to tackle similar ideas.

Two years later, the Surface Book is still a fine choice for a laptop and, though it’s been succeeded by the new and improved Surface Book 2, the fact that it’s cheaper should you purchase it refurbished makes it a compelling sell. It’s not available new anymore, so you won’t get the shiny new box, but you will get a fascinating laptop that doubles as a tablet.

The 3:2 aspect ratio may be alien to some, but Apple users will feel right at home while using the Surface Book, and it won’t take long for Windows veterans to get the hang of it either. Meanwhile, the ‘dynamic fulcrum’ hinge has been a point of controversy for the Surface Book since its conception, yet we would argue it’s all part of the Surface charm.

Of course, it’s always exciting to hear about when the company that makes the software starts creating the hardware as well. After all, it’s worked out extremely well for Apple all of these years, and now it’s worked out similarly swimmingly for the Surface Book. Following the success of its Surface Pro devices, Microsoft’s ‘ultimate laptop’ is no differently favored.

It’s expensive, sure, but bear with us – the Surface Book is well worth the barrier of entry. It’s effectively two different devices at once, made better by the fact that it’s compatible with the latest Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. This introduces what are essentially tabs to every program on your computer called ‘Sets and even lets you link your Google account with Cortana.

Design

If a tear in the space-time continuum were to suddenly rip open, two things would fall out: the Terminator and then the Surface Book quickly tumbling to the Earth behind it. From the snake-like hinge, the flat design and even down to the washed-out silver color of this laptop, everything about it just seems like it came from the future.

Milled from two solid blocks of magnesium, the Surface Book feels sturdy and has a most minimalistic style unto its own.

From keyboard deck to the palm rests, the entire interior of this laptop is one flat surface of metal, save for the large space reserved for the glass touchpad. Similarly, the screen lid is made of one uninterrupted slate of magnesium, with its only extra flourishes being a mirror-finished Windows logo in the center and a rear-facing camera.

Along the chiseled sides, you'll find two flat edges that start from the top of the display and terminate at the tip of the palm rest. That's not the only seamless transition.

Unlike most other convertible devices, the screen and base sections share nearly the same thickness and weight. Without the foreknowledge that the display can actually detach, the Surface Book looks like one continuous device, thanks to the hinge.

Mind the gap

At the midpoint of the Surface Book, there's a piece of connective tissue that Microsoft calls the dynamic fulcrum hinge. On top of simply gluing the screen and keyboard base together, it's this key piece that makes the whole device work.

Rather than folding flatly, the hinge basically coils into itself, leaving a noticeable gap between the screen and keyboard when the unit is closed. When opened, this same part rolls out and actually extends the base of the laptop, which in turn helps extend the support base for the tablet portion of the Surface Book (called the Clipboard).

While a traditional notebook display might weigh half a pound at most, the top section of the Surface Book weighs 1.6-pounds, because it contains all the necessary parts to act as a standalone tablet. As such, the hinge has been reinforced and contains extra mechanisms, not unlike the Lenovo Yoga 900's watchband-style hinge to keep it in place.

Surface Book is solid as a rock, and you can even pick up it by the display and shake it about without worrying about the whole thing falling apart. On a flat surface, the screen is held steady in place and even stays put when you have it in your lap.

The only times the screen wobbles are when I'm poking at it with my finger or the Surface pen, but that really comes with trying to operate a touchscreen on any laptop.

And to address the concerns of the gap left in the middle of the system. Yes, there is a substantial open space in the middle of the system when it's closed. No, dust and other bits of nasty will not slip into the interior anymore than with a standard laptop, unless you're a particularly messy person. After a week of using the Surface Book religiously, I can run my finger against the inside edge of the hinge and not find a single speck of dust.

Another plus side of having a laptop that doesn't close completely flush is you'll never find any oily outlines of the keyboard imprinted on the screen. It's a design element that also eliminates the need to seat the keyboard into a recessed area. Instead, the keys on this laptop sit flush with the keyboard deck.

The keyboard itself offers a splendid 1.6mm of key travel that caps off with a satisfying thwack when you bottom out the keys. The trackpad is equally as enjoyable, with it's glass laminated finish. For the first time ever, I found myself interested in using the three-finger multi-gestures to rotate through windows and reveal the desktop.

While this is a tiny element of the Surface Book, few – if any – other Windows notebooks on the market today offer such a tight tracking experience.

Mobilizing the desktop

The Surface Book's other signature trick is the screen can pop off the base with just the tap of a button. Technically, Microsoft is coming late to the 2-in-1 laptop game with various devices being able to do the same, including Acer's Switch family, Toshiba's Click notebooks, some HP devices and the list goes on.

However, no one has made a system as seamless as the Surface Book.

Undocking and attaching the Clipboard is nearly as seamless as the Surface Book's design. After either pressing the eject button on the keyboard or the virtual button in the taskbar, the screen will blink off for a second and then notify you it's safe to detach the screen with one quick tug.

It's fast and simple, however, the timing takes a little getting used to. After you get the prompt to detach the screen, you have to wait for about half a second before you can actually lift the display off its base.

Another unique feature to this notebook is it's the first to integrate a discrete graphics processor, or GPU, into a hybrid system. Tucked underneath the keyboard is a customized Nvidia GeForce GPU that makes this laptop just a bit more capable with media production and gaming.

We've seen this sort of GPU docking technology before in machines like the MSI GS30 Shadow with GamingDock and Alienware's GPU Amplifier solution. Microsoft has improved upon dockable graphics, as the Surface Book just needs a short moment to disengage the extra parts, whereas both the Alienware and MSI solutions require the laptop to reboot completely.

It's a neat feature that allows me to quickly show a friend something cool or when I want to read a digital comic book without having to lug the whole laptop around. But it didn't really click with me until I realized how easily it lets me bring my entire PC to another place without having to disconnect my external monitor, keyboard, mouse, Xbox controller and all my other peripherals at home

It's the coolest mechanic since the saucer separation of the Enterprise-D. What's more, it leaves open a door to expandability. Because the Clipboard is compatible with all Surface Book keyboard bases, not just the one it shipped with, Microsoft could theoretically come out with future upgrades could be done through new bases. (Or maybe even a desktop rig that interfaces with the display? We can dream.)

First reviewed: October 2015

Gabe Carey also contributed to this review

With a starting weight of 3.34 pounds (1.51kg), the Surface Book is one of the heaviest 13-inch laptops. And that's without the optional, discrete GPU, which ends up adding a few extra ounces and bumps up this laptop's total weight to 3.48 pounds (1.58kg). While this might look like a lot on paper for an Ultrabook-class device, consider the 13-inch MacBook Pro weighs just as much despite it packing a smaller screen, no dedicated GPU and fewer batteries. For a closer look at how the two devices compare, check out our Microsoft Surface Book vs Apple MacBook Pro versus article.

If you're looking for the power of a discrete GPU in an Apple device, you'll have to go all the way up to a high-end 15-inch MacBook Pro. And this is a machine that is significantly heavier (4.49 pounds or 2.04kg) and larger (14.13 x 9.73 x 0.71 inches or 359 x 247 x 18mm).

Thanks to its 3:2 aspect ratio and having a 13.5-inch screen, the Surface book is quite a bit taller than your average 13-inch laptop. Despite its peculiar 12.3 x 9.14 x 0.51-0.90 inches or 312 232 x 13-22.8 mm (W x D x H) dimensions, I had no problem slipping this laptop into bags designed to hold a traditional 13.3-inch laptop.

The Dell XPS 13 comes as the antithesis to the Surface Book in its mission to be the smallest 13-inch laptop in the world, weighing in at 2.8 pounds (1.27kg) while measuring 11.98 x 7.88 x 0.6 inches (304mm x 200 x 15mm).

Spec sheet

Here is the configuration for the Microsoft Surface Book techradar reviewed:

With an $1,899 or AU$2,949 (about £1,239) price tag for the configuration above, the Surface Book asks for a pretty penny that's typically reserved for high-end gaming notebooks. And that's even applicable to the $1,499 or AU$2,299 (about £978) price associated with its most basic configuration, which is essentially a more expensive Surface Pro 4.

Not just a joke either, Microsoft's two Surface devices shares very similar standard specs including the same processor, storage space and memory allotment. However, there are several key differences, as Microsoft's first laptop possess a larger screen and a completely different design. It's for this reason, it makes sense to either throw in an extra couple of dollars in the hole to get the $1,699, US-only unit with discrete graphics and 128GB of storage space.

If you want to go whole hog on Microsoft's hybrid, you could also pick up a 1TB configuration that comes with an Intel Core i7 CPU, a discrete GPU and 16GB of RAM for $3,199 – but again, unfortunately, this is a US-only configuration.

The well-equipped, Skylake-powered Dell XPS 13 can be had for $1,649 (£1,149, $2,499). While it does not come with a discrete graphics chip, the XPS 13 has a leg up on the Surface book with a 3,200 x 1,800 resolution display and a 2.5Ghz Intel Core i7-6500U processor.

The 15-inch MacBook Pro is by far the most expensive machine, ringing up for $2,499 (£1,999, AU$3,799). However, for this kingly sum, it comes with double the RAM and SSD storage space, an AMD Radeon R9 M370X GPU, and it's the only one with a quad-core processor. Unfortunately, it has the lowest resolution display, pushing only 2,880 by 1,800 pixels.

If you're looking for something to serve your basic mobile computing needs, then the Dell XPS 13 is your smartest and most economical choice. However, if you're looking for something flashier and can do more, then the Surface Book is your ticket. For those who need a production workhorse, the 15-inch MacBook Pro still wins this race against Microsoft.

With a dedicated GPU, naturally the first tests I conducted were gaming ones. The Clipboard and its Skylake processor have more than enough power to make Hearthstone fly, even at full resolution. Plugging the display into the keyboard base unlocks even more performance from the dedicated GPU. With the discrete graphics chip in tow, the Surface Book can play Rocket League at 30 frames per second (fps) in full screen and medium settings.

For more serious games, like Metal Gear the Phantom Pain, I was able to get it running between 24 to 29 fps, but only after dropping the resolution to 1,920 x 1,080 and practically turning off all the settings. Microsoft's first laptop won't be replacing your PC gaming rig any time soon, but it's surprising how well this machine gets along with only 1GB of video RAM.

Of course, all this power also makes the Surface Book a productivity beast that easily takes on task after task. Lightroom runs incredibly fast on this 13-inch laptop, thanks to the added power of the Nvidia graphics. What's more amazing is I'm able to edit photos quickly while I have a browser full of 10 tabs and streaming video pushed over to a connected monitor.

The Surface Book has broken all sorts of benchmark speed record, thanks to its hot new Intel Skylake and Nvidia GeForce chipset. Just in terms of processing power alone, it's 301-point Cinebench score is significant jump compared to the Dell XPS 13, which ran with a last-generation Broadwell Intel Core I5 chip.

Thanks to the extra boost from the discrete graphics chip, the Surface Book also has more than double the performance for gaming. This is evidenced by its 1,868 point Fire Strike score compared to the Dell's 739-point performance.

The only figure I can draw to compare this machine to the 15-inch MacBook Pro is the GeekBench score. In the multi-core test, Microsoft's laptop finished with 6,635 points, whereas two outlets saw the 15-inch Apple's steely steed completed the test with an average of 14,258 – an unsurprising result, considering the MacBook Pro has twice the number of processor cores.

Pixels to please

With 3,000 x 2,000 pixels under its belt, the Surface Book sits at a happy middle ground of being sharper than most other laptops (including every MacBook in existence) without the troubles that plague 4K screens. You'll never see the separation between the pixes, l because they're so tiny, and Windows 10 scales beautifully at 200%.

While most applications, including the Origin, Steam and Battle.net launcher would look tiny on a 4K screen, these windows look small, but not uncomfortably so, on the Surface Book.

I even like the 3:2 aspect ratio. The ability to read more lines of text and not have a Lightroom window that's not vertically squished together more than makes up for the thick black bars that appear when you watch movies. Microsoft fashions its displays after A4 paper, which makes the Clipboard feel like a natural device for writing and art work.

Within five minutes of handing the Surface Book over to an artistic friend, who works as a designer in the fashion industry, she was already drinking the Kool-Aid. According to her, using the Surface Pen is incredibly accurate, and the screen gives just enough to the point where it emulates the feel of painting and drawing on real paper.

Sadly, the speakers don't make as big of an impression and really only sound good enough for some casual listening. While they avoid the problem of being tinny, as most laptop speakers are, they also lack any depth with barely any bass. If you're looking to settle down for a movie or a quick game, you'll want to plug in a pair of headphones.

Battery life

Battery life on the Surface Book is both pretty good and surprisingly disappointing. While Microsoft has promised 12 hours of continual usage and other outlets report getting even more juice out of the machine, our best time for the device was 7 hours and 39 minutes. As for the Clipboard on its own, the tablet can last for 4 hours.

While these are more than respectable numbers considering all the hardware inside the Surface Book, I honestly expected a much longer run time. The good news is this notebook recharges quickly, going from zero to 100% charge in under two hours.

This could largely be due some problems early Surface Book owners are running into. My unit seems to be among this group of afflicted models. Just some of the major bugs include the system not starting up properly when connected to the dock and display driver failures. The latter of which cause battery life to drop dramatically by three or more hours.

Microsoft has said it is "aware of aware scenarios where Surface Book's display may deliver a display driver error and that we'll address through fixes issued via Windows Update within a few weeks after launch."

By comparison, the older generation Dell XPS 13 lasted for 7 hours and 40 minutes, while several outlets were able to stretch their usage of the most recent 15-inch MacBook Pro for an average of 9 hours and change. So again, the Surface Book's battery life is by no means terrible, but it could get a lot better with future updates.

Now, the question is: has Microsoft made the ultimate laptop? And the answer is not quite – not quite yet, anyway. The Surface Book still has some growing pains to get through, and its substantial size may not jive with everyone. However, this is a great first crack, and it's made the concept of 2-in-1 laptop look and sound more believable than anyone else has.

The majority of hybrid laptops to this point have followed the back-flipping model established by Lenovo's Yoga series. This is largely because models with detaching screens were clunky and chunky, but Microsoft has turned the perfected the concept by splitting the laptop in half.

All the essentials for a Windows 10 tablet are packed into the Clipboard, which can be used as Surface tablet unto it's own. But then the slate marries perfectly with its other half that contains extra batteries and a dedicated GPU.

We liked

The Surface Book's design isn't for everyone, but I simply fell in love with its futuristic look. Whether it looks odd or just ahead of the curve will depend on your perspective, but you can't deny Microsoft has made a daring move with its dynamic fulcrum hinge. 2-in-1 laptops – and especially those of the detachable variety – have had their ugly duck moments. This is no such moment for Redmond.

Beyond looks, every design element of this laptop is full of purpose, from the rolling hinge to how quickly you can detach the Clipboard. The Surface Pen and the display work together beautifully for creating art that I will never understand beyond jotting down my notes in chicken scratch. And then there's the Surface Book's undying performance that just won't let up whether you're working on spreadsheets, editing photos or even enjoying some light gaming.

We disliked

While I praise this hybrid for its incredible performance, there are heavy limits on just how many games it will play with only one gigabyte of video memory. The early bugs are also something I can't ignore, but they're to be expected from the first run of the first laptop ever created by Microsoft.

Though some small parts of the Surface Book experience are borked as of this writing, you can bet Microsoft won't be resting on its laurels. Updates will continue to come out quickly one after the other and just in the time of one week, I've already received two software patches that have fixed a few of my early problems with the device.

Final verdict

If you were to strip away the Clipboard's ability to detach, the Surface Pen, the neatness factor of the dynamic fulcrum hinge and just about everything that makes the Surface Book unique, you would be still left with terrific laptop. That's what I love the most about this device. Underneath all the extra stuff, the Surface Book is a solid laptop in terms of ergonomics, performance and, yes, even battery life despite the promises.

Incorporating all the extras – from the ability to run off with the clipboard, the incredible accuracy of the Surface Pen and the engineering feats of the hinge – they all serve to enhance the experience, rather than detract. In time, Microsoft will smooth out all the rough edges of its first go. Both the Dell XPS 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro are well worth purchasing in their own right. But if you want an excellent laptop that does just a bit more, then the Surface Book is your ticket.

]]>Apple MacBookhttp://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/laptops-portable-pcs/laptops-and-netbooks/macbook-1287806/review
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/laptops-portable-pcs/laptops-and-netbooks/macbook-1287806/reviewIf you can get past the lofty price tag, then prepare to enjoy what’s surprisingly the best MacBook in years.Tue, 12 Dec 2017 22:02:00 +0000techradar.comThree years ago, we were anticipating the release of a Retina MacBook Air. But, whereas that device never came, we were lucky enough to be graced with a 12-inch MacBook but a few months later. Although it bears most – if not all – of the qualities we would have put on our Retina MacBook Air wishlist, it’s still not clear where this MacBook fits in the Apple family.

Nevertheless, we’re glad that it does. It may have the controversial limitation of just one USB Type-C port that’s still yet to be updated to Thunderbolt 3, and it costs as much as a MacBook Pro. Yet, despite its few remaining shortcomings that have yet to be addressed, we’re otherwise content with the state of the 12-inch Retina MacBook.

As of 2017, it’s shied away from its Broadwell roots, introducing Intel Core “i” processors to Apple’s now-smallest MacBook for the first time ever, albeit in the form of Kaby Lake-Y. The best part is that, unlike Apple’s mobile handsets, its MacBooks remain available in four different colors: Space Gray, Gold, Silver and the elusive Rose Gold variant of which our iPhones have been deprived.

Price and availability

Like last year, the 12-inch MacBook starts at a pretty high price already, at $1,299 (£1,249, AU$1,899). That’s how much it would take to fetch you everything found under our hot pink spec sheet, including a 7th-generation Intel Core m3 processor. Yet, as we mentioned before, it’s the same amount of money that could net you the recently discounted MacBook Pro.

Moving up through the pre-built configurations upgrades the CPU to an Intel Core i5 Y-series processor, which maintains the fanless design and doubles the storage to 512GB. Sadly, this extra cash – $1,599 (£1,549, AU$2,349) – doesn’t get you the double RAM capacity, a marquee feature of this year’s revision. That’s locked behind a specific configuration you can select at checkout for another $200, £180 or AU$320, as is the Core i7 CPU.

Meanwhile, Google’s new flagship Chromebook, the Google Pixelbook, starts at $999 (£999, about AU$1,295) for a stronger Core i5 Y-series processor with matching RAM and half as much SSD storage. Upping the configuration meets the MacBook’s storage capacity for $100 less in the US and £100 in the UK. Better yet, the Pixelbook’s 12.3-inch screen is sharper at 235 pixels per inch. Granted, its lauded Pixelbook Pen costs another $99 (£99, about AU$128).

On the Windows side, one of the most technically comparable laptops is the Acer Swift 7, an Ultrabook seemingly handcrafted to go toe-to-toe with the MacBook. This one starts at $1,099 or £999 (about AU$1,449) for a similar Core i5 Y-series processor with matching storage and RAM as well as a Full HD, 13.3-inch display.

Design

Frankly, not much of anything has changed about the look and feel of the 12-inch MacBook frame, which isn’t entirely a bad thing. Available in space gray, silver, gold and rose gold, the brushed aluminum feels just as cool (literally) and sublime as it has on Apple laptops for years.

Again, the laptop’s thinness and feathery weight continues to impress to the point that its dimensions are a hallmark aspect of the device.

That said, an even more narrow screen bezel or just one more USB-C port would be blessings upon the design at this point.

One major improvement upon the 12-inch MacBooks of yesteryear is the refined butterfly switches that comprise the new backlit keyboard. Travel doesn’t feel any deeper, which isn’t great, but feedback is much stronger and more forceful, improving the quality drastically.

The wide, glass-coated trackpad remains unchanged from last year, meaning it’s just as pleasant to use as it’s always been. Apple’s touch interface technology both through hardware and software remains nearly unmatched.

We say ‘nearly’ because Google may have well caught up to Apple with its Pixelbook. Seriously, the keyboard and trackpad on that thing are ones to be imitated.

Display and sound

We all know that Apple has prided itself on its displays for years, and with good reason. The 12-inch MacBook’s screen remains unchanged since the dawn of the product in 2015, which is just fine. Editing photos and doing graphically intense design work looks simply superb on the Retina display, but it’s not the sharpest in its class any longer.

Also, the 16:10 aspect ratio is just off-kilter enough to be annoying sometimes, like when watching movies or editing images that are formatted to 16:9 in fullscreen mode.

As for how the laptop sounds, the four stereo speakers toward its hinge can definitely pump out some loud tunes. But, like all laptops with mere millimeters to work with for audio chambers, the sound comes through tinny and thin, with some channels in songs just getting lost outright.

That said, you’re not going to find much better sound elsewhere out of a laptop anywhere near this thin. Thank heaven this is a product Apple has yet to cut the headphone jack from.

While the 12-inch MacBook still makes use of an M- or Y-series Intel processor, we’ve already come to know that this means little to the average user. It’s capable enough even if that user is doing some photo editing with the laptop in question – though, video editing might be pushing it.

During our time with Apple’s latest, we experienced nothing in the way of chugging or slowdown with more than 20 Google Chrome tabs open at some points. Bear in mind that those tabs were generating everything from streaming music to text editors, spreadsheets and even live chat.

Because we’re stacking the MacBook up against a laptop that runs Chrome OS and one that released early in the year, before we adopted the Geekbench 4 test, straight comparisons in the numbers would be a fool’s errand.

What these numbers should tell you is that this laptop is more than capable of handling basic tasks and even some advanced ones, like Java-based graphical map generation.

That said, don’t be surprised to see this laptop get spanked by those equipped with full-fat, mobile U-series Intel processors.

When you stack those stark differences with the arguably minimal gains in weight and thinness that those laptops present, it’s hard not to question the price of such an admittedly gorgeous device.

Battery life

All that said, the 2017 MacBook continues to beat most of its rivals in pure longevity, reporting a battery life score in our original TechRadar Battery Life Test of 8 hours and 4 minutes. That’s nearly a half-hour longer than the Pixelbook and several hours longer than the Swift 7.

Of course, that’s unsurprisingly far below Apple’s battery life claims of up to 10 hours wireless web browsing or up to 12 hours iTunes movie playback. Regardless, it’s well beyond what most Ultrabooks of this year have reported in our test, which sets screen brightness and audio volume to 50%, as well all other back lights and radios off save for Wi-Fi.

We liked

This year’s MacBook sees vast improvements to the keyboard, especially in feedback strength, making typing on it far more delightful and accurate.

The sheer thinness and lightness of the device is still an impressive feat, and the gains in processor speed are welcome no matter how modest they may be in real-world use.

We disliked

Frankly, the price of this laptop should be at least 100 bills less regardless of currency, and a marquee performance feature of this laptop – 16GB of RAM capacity – simply costs too much.

Plus, the lack of ports and the middling 480p webcam just can’t be ignored any longer for a laptop that costs this much.

Final verdict

To be honest, given its exorbitant price for what’s on offer hardware-wise, we’re a bit annoyed that we like the 2017 12-inch MacBook as much as we do. Simply put, the laptop is rather easily out-classed in terms of pricing by many rivals in terms of brass tacks components, from storage capacity to ports to screen sharpness.

However, the feel of using this laptop on a daily basis is where it manages to hold its ground in the competition. Apple’s latest MacBook design has proven to be inimitable over the past couple years, delivering an experience that’s both performant and lightweight in ways that most other laptops can’t.

Simply working on something or browsing the web from the couch with our legs crossed feels better on this laptop than it does most others we’ve tested. Throwing this MacBook into a backpack – and perhaps even forgetting the charger – feels as if nothing is in there. Yet, what comes out is a laptop that wakes up instantly and won’t slow down short of gaming or intense graphical editing work.

If you can get past a price tag that’s high even for Mac fans, then prepare to enjoy what’s surprisingly the best MacBook in years – Pro or otherwise.

]]>Windows 10http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/software/operating-systems/windows-10-1267364/review
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/software/operating-systems/windows-10-1267364/reviewFind out what's new in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.Tue, 12 Dec 2017 20:10:00 +0000techradar.comSince Windows 10 landed on our PCs for the first time back in 2015, we’ve benefited from three separate, and massive, updates that only “Windows as a Service” could provide. That is what Microsoft has been calling its post-chronologically numerical Windows updates after all, and it’s what we’re going to start seeing a lot more of in 2018.

Next year, building onto the Anniversary Update, Creators Update and Fall Creators Update that came before it, we’re going to see Redstone 4, a revision to Microsoft’s OS for PCs that will likely be called something completely different by the time it comes out. We don’t know much about what it will entail, but we’ve heard we’ll see full-on eSIM compatibility for always-connected devices – such as those that rely on LTE for internet usage.

Today, the currently newest Windows 10 Fall Creators Update has continued to show Microsoft making good on the plans it unveiled to us two years ago. On top of that, the Anniversary Update that came out last year brought some great improvements to the Start screen and Action Center, along with the Edge web browser. It also introduced the Ink Workspace, which concentrates on the daily features that you use the most.

The Fall Creators Update, however, brings more new features and functions than you can keep up with, but focused on areas that revolve around creating or enjoying content. Whether that be books, gaming, drawing or even 3D modeling, Windows 10 now does those things way better.

Of course, some core tools, like the Edge browser and Cortana have received upgrades, too. And, Windows 10 now finally has a night-time screen mode in Night Light. Microsoft has also brought about major improvements to security and privacy (or at least transparency) in Windows 10.

These changes continue to further Microsoft’s mission for Windows 10 to be the operating system for everything and everyone – now having reached 600 million installs.

Without further delay, let’s dive into the major beats of the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.

What’s new in the Fall Creators Update?

Frankly, if you haven’t installed Windows 10 Fall Creators Update already, there’s more reason than ever to jump on the bandwagon. Windows 7 updates are shaky at the moment, with Microsoft focusing much of its efforts on its new operating system. What’s more, Windows 7 users are dropping it like flies, according to the latest reports.

Arguably, that’s with good reason. What you stand to gain from the latest version of Windows 10 starts with ‘Sets’, a Microsft-y term for what are essentially out-of-browser tabs applicable to those apps that you won’t find in Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or your preferred web surfing tool.

Also highlighted in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update are a slew of enhancements for tablet and 2-in-1 users wielding styluses. You can now, for instance, doodle from directly within PDF files or Word docs themselves, complemented by a new ‘Find My Pen’ feature that tracks where your stylus last touched the screen. That’s made better (looking) by visual improvements made possible by the Fluent Design system, which aims to modernize select facets of the UI.

However, more meaningful changes, like a more combative approach to ransomware, are appreciated as well. Specifically, the Fall Creators Update makes room for a ‘Controlled Folder Access’ toggle, letting you preclude unauthorized apps from getting their hands on your files.

Eye Control, too, has made its way into the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, as has a Mixed Reality Viewer. Without the necessity to purchase one of the company’s affordable Windows Mixed Reality headsets – also compatible with the OS – you can now integrate 3D objects virtually into your home or workspace using your webcam or USB camera.

Otherwise, the Windows Mixed Reality headsets – available now – start at $299 (about £225, AU$380) and, as of November 15, support SteamVR to enjoy games such as Fallout 4 VR and Doom VFR as well as the virtual reality rendition of Skyrim. They might cost over $399 in the US, but you also have the option to buy a headset bundled with the all-but-essential motion controllers.

And, iterating on the Paint 3D software introduced in the spring Creators Update, Fall Creators Update users can take the 3D models they’ve created and integrate them into outside applications, such as the suite of Office 365 programs. Thanks to AirDrop-inspired Near Share, you can also go as far as to share them with other PCs in your area.

On a less productive note, the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update hones in on the fact that, according to Redmond’s sources, more people now watch games than actually play them, though 200 million people are still playing them on Windows 10. In the Fall Creators Update, Mixer, Microsoft’s answer to Twitch and YouTube Gaming, will be even faster.

Notwithstanding this fact, Steam stats are showing that only 28.6% of its players are still using Windows 10 as of October 2017. That’s a whopping 17.38% drop from the 45.98% of Steam gamers that were playing on Windows 10 the previous month. Perhaps knowing that the Fall Creators Update will also make games operate smoother via its enhanced Game Mode will change their minds, however.

If not, then there are plenty of non-gamers that will certainly enjoy the new ‘Memories’ and ‘Stories’ portion of the Windows 10 Photos app. With these new features in tow, you can modify images like never before by adding to them 3D effects, transitions, Ink and even video.

Peering towards the future, the Fall Creators Update isn’t the final frontier for Windows 10 either. Next up, we can nearly assure you at this point that Microsoft is on its way to selling hardware via the Windows 10 Store.

So, if you want to buy a Surface Book 2 from the digital storefront on your existing Surface Book, this could soon be possible. And, with Windows Hello biometric verification to boot.

Night Light

Getting the smallest – but perhaps most welcome – change out of the way, Microsoft’s answer to Night Shift on macOS Sierra is an effective and welcome feature for people that tend to use computers at all hours of the night.

What’s even better than competing solutions is how you can adjust the tone of the color change in addition to the standard setting of whether the mode kicks in at sunset local time or activates within set hours.

Paint 3D

The coolest-sounding feature of the major Windows 10 changes in the Creators Update doesn’t disappoint. When seeing it firsthand, creating three dimensional pieces of art truly is as simple as Microsoft demonstrated it on stage at the update’s reveal event.

Then again, it’s clear that this app has the capacity to allow for quite a bit of complexity in what can be created, too. Most of that simplicity comes down to how intuitively the app communicates three dimensions in a two-dimensional space. Clever, minimalist use of sliders and other toggles allow you to shift your creation’s position(s) on either axis.

Of course, a wide selection of pre-loaded creation templates – like goldfish – will help newcomers out immensely. Naturally, it wouldn’t be Paint without the ability to freehand in 3D, and thus comes the desire to share those custom creations. That’s where Remix.com, Microsoft’s online portal for sharing these Paint 3D projects, comes into play.

The way in which Paint 3D communicates how to create in a new dimension so easily for the average user, yet offers the depth to please them as they increase in skill, could do a lot of good for the 3D printing scene, as well as VR and so many other fields further down the road.

Granted, this is by no means a professional-grade 3D modeling app – this is purely meant for the vast majority of Windows 10 users. (Though, you can export anything created in Paint 3D as 3D-ready FBX or 3MF files for 3D printers.)

Regardless, we’re already impressed with what Paint 3D can do, and only hope it grows from here. Oh, and don’t worry, the old Paint remains untouched.

Gaming

Microsoft has been beating the drum of the PC gaming renaissance since the debut of Windows 10, but has ramped up the tempo with the past few major updates. In keeping with the crescendo, the Creators Update will likely have the biggest impact on gamers of any gaming-focused Windows 10 improvements to date.

The most exciting, but least proven, feature to come in this update is Game Mode, a new toggle that’s now part of the Windows 10 Game Bar (which too has seen some upgrades, but more on that in a moment). Game Mode tells your system to reallocate CPU and GPU hardware resources to prioritize the gaming application at hand when it’s the active, full-screen application in use.

The results, as Microsoft claims, are steadier frame rates than before, notably with games that particularly tax a given system’s resources.

We’ve already covered how Windows 10 Game Mode works in great detail, and will test the extent of its impact on gaming once the software is final starting April 11. Though, Microsoft already warns that Game Mode brings the most benefit to systems that aren’t absolutely optimized for gaming.

Microsoft is also looking to seriously up the reach of, and community around, games played on Windows 10 with a new feature called Beam. In reality an acquisition made by the firm recently, Beam is a PC game streaming and broadcasting platform similar to that of Twitch, replete with its own streaming network via web browser, converted into a baked-in Game Bar feature.

Beam’s major claim to fame here, though, is that it maintains sub-second latency from the broadcaster’s executions in-game to those moments being displayed to your PC screen via stream. In other words, for broadcasters, this reduction in the time between what you’re doing in-game and your viewers seeing it makes interacting either way that much more interesting.

And that’s not to mention how dead simple Microsoft has made it to stream to Beam (teehee) from Windows 10.

Like Game Mode, Beam is, again, a function of the Game Bar. Upon pressing that dedicated broadcasting button on the Game Bar, and then just a few clicks and toggles after that, you’re broadcasting to Beam viewers worldwide. That’s after creating a Beam account, as well as an Xbox Live account if you haven’t already, of course.

However, there’s an issue with this. While we’ve seen firsthand how simple it is to get streaming using Beam, and broadcasters know how complex this can be, you can only broadcast to Beam. Of course, this makes sense, but aren’t the type of people that would benefit most from super-simple streaming more interested in broadcasting to Facebook or somewhere else their friends are more likely to be?

A Microsoft engineer seemed to think this was a good point when we made it to him just after demonstrating Beam for us recently – so, hey, maybe that dream will come true.

Ultimately, Microsoft has just made gaming a much bigger consideration of the Windows 10 environment. It even has its own section in the Windows 10 Settings pane: “Gaming”.

The new set of, well, settings allows you to tweak how the Game Bar is summoned or whether it’s on at all, as well as customize keyboard shortcuts to activate its various functions. There are also toggles for Game DVR, like changing save location, enabling background recording, and setting frame rate and video quality among others.

Rounding out the Gaming settings are broadcasting controls like audio quality, volumes, which camera to use and more – the Game Mode setting is just an activation toggle.

First reviewed: July 2015

Gabe Carey has also contributed to this review

While making things in 3D or blowing them up is a jolly good time. There’s so much more going on in Windows 10, especially with what Edge has become in the Creators Update in tandem with Microsoft’s release of a Books section to the Windows Store. But, let’s start with some minor improvements to Microsoft’s voice assistant.

Cortana

The new changes to Cortana are less about using the service directly and more about how it can simplify how you use your PC. If you’re using Outlook or Office 365 as your email client, Cortana can read those messages and create reminders for you based on the language of your emails that contain commitments to deadlines and other promises.

Apparently, Cortana is also key in holding onto whatever apps and documents you had open, and where you were in those apps and documents, if you return to your PC within 30 minutes of locking it. But, that’s not really all that exciting, as your computer generally already does this, unless you have it set to sign you out every time the device locks.

However, Cortana’s ability to do this even after rebooting is far more impressive (at least on paper), since any caching is generally wiped upon reboot. In this early version of the Creators Update, we weren’t able to to reproduce this feature, so hopefully it will be ready come the update’s April 11 roll out.

Edge

There’s no denying that Microsoft is funneling a lot of energy into making its new Edge browser competitive with that of today’s king, Google Chrome. Most of the changes this time around focus on things that Microsoft has noticed its competitors lack. For starters, the way tabs are handled in Edge has been vastly improved.

Tab preview has existed in Edge for a long time, but in a singular fashion. Now, a downward arrow next to the “new tab” button produces a preview of every open tab. Of course, these are just tiny thumbnails captured when you first accessed the web page – they’re not dynamic and do not update.

Even better, you can now take a set of tabs and stow them away for later access with a new, dedicated button. Once you do that, you can view those tabs in addition to any other sets you’ve “set aside,” with the option to restore those sets of tabs, add them to your Favorites or share them via email or OneNote. You can also delete sets of saved tabs or individual ones.

However, mind that restoring them brings back the cached version of those tabs from when you last accessed them, so you’ll need to refresh the pages. If you’re going to do this anyway, this is a step Microsoft should eliminate.

Another bummer is that you cannot name your saved sets of tabs. While you see them in the same preview format that’s available above the navigation bar, it would make sense to be able to name them according to web workflow, like “Work” and, say, “Gaming Broadcast Setup.” If organization is what you’re going for, you gotta’ have a label maker, so to speak.

At any rate, the new tab management tools are certainly helpful, especially for people who browse tabs with their mouse, rather than with keyboard shortcuts, but we’re dubious of whether they’re compelling enough to pull folks away from Chrome. That said, it all works fluidly. Plus, those tabs are saved even after closing Edge.

Also, the new sharing design language is a welcome change that makes as much sense in the desktop environment as it does on mobile. In other words, it’s basically the Windows 10 Mobile, window-based sharing format come to Windows 10 proper.

Books

As you may already know, the Creators Update turns Edge into a full-fledged e-reader, supporting the EPUB file format. This update comes in conjunction with Microsoft launching a Books section in the Windows Store. The pricing and selection for which is comparable to rivals, replete with a collection of free literary classics as well as staff recommendations.

And, the link between buying them and having them available for reading in Edge is practically instant, with Edge even offering a link back to the Windows Store to buy more books. The reader itself is quite robust, with tables of contents, bookmarking, search, text controls and even a text-to-speech read aloud function. And, the controls are silky smooth to boot.

Having turned Edge into a fully-fledged e-reader tool is admirable, but you have to wonder how many users will benefit from or take advantage of this feature. If people aren’t using e-readers like Kindles, aren’t they using tablets like an iPad or Android tablet? Since there are so few Windows tablets around, we doubt many will see this as a useful addition, it being a niche that’s long been filled.

Now, if Microsoft were to expand PDF support for Edge to enable file editing and more, we’d be much more excited about Edge’s expanding file compatibility.

While the changes to Edge and an all-new Books store in Windows 10 are pretty huge, almost equally as massive is how Microsoft have vastly broadened how Windows Ink can be used within the OS, primarily via the Photos app. Less massive are the other changes to its Photos and Movies & TV apps.

Windows Ink

Being able to ink over web pages in Microsoft Edge isn’t anything new, but being able to do so across other file types, like images in Photos, documents in Word, and even videos (with the Photos app, oddly), is a welcome addition. Of course, you can share these doodled-up files with friends using Windows 10, too. The Snapchat crowd ought to get a load out of this.

Microsoft has even expanded Windows Ink to its Maps tool. Now, you can doodle on maps and share them with friends to draw out plans. More interestingly, Windows Ink and Maps work in tandem to let you draw out either a straight line or contiguous path, producing the real-world distance of that line, no matter how long. Neat, but also useful for folks that actually enjoy the outdoors and exercise.

Scribbling all over, well, practically anything, feels unsurprisingly natural and responsive, and frankly feels like Windows Ink starting to realize its potential. However, we’re still left wondering whether these tools will meaningfully change how we, say, share photos and videos with friends or inked-up documents with coworkers.

At the moment, each iteration of Windows Ink controls in these basic apps – Photos, Movies & TV, Maps, etc – is simply littered with basic drawing, pointer and color controls; save for Maps. Perhaps that’s enough to get more people using their touch PCs to their full capacity.

Photos and Movies & TV

In addition to what Windows Ink allows you to do with images opened in this app, Photos now automatically attaches searchable tags to all of your photos according to when and where they were shot, as well as the people within them and notable landmarks or items you’ve got on film. While no less a welcome feature, does that sound familiar at all?

The Movies & TV app has been upgraded to support 360-degree video, but more importantly now supports picture-in-picture mode for Windows 10. Finally adopting one of the most exciting additions to macOS Sierra, Microsoft calls this “mini mode,” with a dedicated button to jump between orientations. The switching is super snappy in our brief testing, but a little janky as it repositions the video, with pixelation and exposed splotches of gray.

While not the most riveting of changes in any OS update, those found in the Creators Update are surprisingly substantial and are actually relevant to your use of the software. That’s particularly the case for the new “Fresh start” function, but more on that in a moment.

Security and privacy

Microsoft has vastly improved its security and privacy measures for Windows 10 in the Creators Update, namely with a new Windows Defender Security Center. This new app takes in all of the functions of the original Windows Defender -- virus scanning and the like -- and couples them with new features.

One of the most interesting of which is the Device Health Advisor, which, while not yet entirely functional in our early test software, is expected to provide information on key system functions and their status through a scanning tool not dissimilar from Windows Defender itself.

All this considered, probably the most useful tool in the new suite is “Fresh start.” This tool allows you to reinstall a clean version of Windows 10 on your PC, maintaining your personal files but deleting any third party apps that came pre-installed on your device or installed thereafter. If you just bought a Windows 10 PC from a big name vendor that’s loaded with bloatware, this is the tool for you, and something Microsoft should be commended for finally taking a stand on.

Another oft-teased feature is “Dynamic lock,” which allows the PC to automatically lock when the webcam detects that the user has walked away from the device. However, this feature was too not available for testing with this early software, so we’ll have to test it out in full come April 11.

For the IT folks, Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) portal will now link to Office 365 ATP, so that IT managers can follow threats all the way from the source (for example, an email) to the problems it’s caused on a system or worse.

As for privacy, Microsoft wasn’t joking about the lengths it went to for improving transparency. For a start, the new setup experience is far friendlier and fully voice-acted for clarity. The voice-over clearly describes the purpose of each function as it relates to privacy, and the design no longer buries options with loads of jargon-filled text.

However, don’t expect Microsoft’s stance on the data that Windows 10 collects to change much, although it claims to have reduced the amount of basic, anonymized information that it gathers. For now, at least Microsoft has simplified its messaging on what data it collects (and at times shares) in two categories, not three: “Basic” and “Full”.

[Editor's Note:the following pages between here and our verdict are largely for readers that have not yet used Windows 10. Welcome, potential newbies!]

In basic use, Windows 10 is not a million miles from Windows 7. You've still got the Start menu, even though it's fundamentally changed (more on that shortly). Key functions are all accessed from the task bar, which has a flat, functional feel. The design language feels refined – window borders are smaller, for example. Anniversary Update adds a new dark mode that switches the interface and all your Store apps to a darker interface, if you prefer that in a dimly lit (or indeed unlit) room.

The key controls that Windows 8 put on the short-lived charms bar and the familiar pop-up notifications are combined in a new Action Center pane that you open by swiping in from the right or clicking a notification icon. In Anniversary Update, this moves to the right of the clock and shows the number of unread alerts.

Key settings are at the bottom of the Action Pane: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Airplane Mode, Tablet mode, a new Note feature for opening the built-in version of OneNote, and a link to the full Settings app. If you have a tablet you'll see the option to lock rotation. There's also a version of the Windows Phone Quiet Hours for blocking notifications, although you have to turn it on by hand rather than setting the times.

In the Settings app you can select which of these Quick Actions appear in the Action Center, as well as which apps can send you notifications. When notifications appear, you can swipe them away with touch, flick them with the mouse or just click the X to close, one at a time or for the whole group. Tap or click the down arrow to see more detail. There's a Clear All option, too.

In Anniversary Update, the number of notifications from a single app is capped – that includes Edge, which can give you alerts from websites you have open; instead of being able to send unlimited updates, each app is limited to the three most recent ones. If you connect an Android or Windows 10 Mobile phone to your PC you'll also get notifications from your phone apps here.

Right click on a notification group and you can make it high priority or turn it off (this isn't available for all notification groups, but you can always open the notification area in Settings to tweak things there). Notifications get richer; apps can use images, add buttons or let you reply to a message directly – messages from the new Skype app have notifications in the Action Center that let you reply, as do text messages that are synced from your phone.

The task bar

Microsoft keeps tweaking the look of the task bar slightly. The Windows button is always there (and you can still right click on it for the power user menu of shortcuts from Windows 8), plus you can shrink or hide the Search box next to it. Pinned icons get a subtle coloured bar beneath them when the app is open that shows a second bar at the side if the app has multiple windows (with a shaded overlay for the current app that also shows multiple windows).

The notification area (which you might still know as the system tray) still expands into a pop-up window if there are more icons that will fit on the task bar, and you can still drag most – but not all – of the icons into the order you want. The icons for the touch keyboard and the new Ink Workspace are fixed next to the clock (although you can turn them off, you can't move them). You can still hover your mouse in the far right corner for a quick look at the empty desktop (Aero Peek), or click in the far right corner to minimize all your windows, but that's now to the right of the Action Center button.

The touch keyboard has new emoji. Six of those celebrate the Windows Insider ninja cat character, many of them are redesigned to match emoji on other platforms more closely and there's a new skin color button that lets you change the skin tone for many of the icons with faces – so you can pick from six shades including Simpsons yellow. You still have to hunt for the emoji you want though – we'd like to see the Windows Mobile keyboard show up here, which suggests emoji along with other auto-correct suggestions.

Clicking the clock opens the new clock and calendar pane with any alternate clocks you have set, and a monthly calendar. In anniversary update the latter shows your agenda for each day as you click through (taken from the Calendar app, so it's worth connecting that to your accounts even if you don't use the app itself).

Also new in Anniversary Update is a handy extra on the volume control – plug in headphones or speakers or connect a Bluetooth audio device and you get a pop-up menu for choosing which audio output you want. Annoyingly, Microsoft is still blocking Store apps from showing up in the Volume Mixer, so you can choose different volumes for IE and Windows Media Player, but not for Groove and Edge.

The Start menu

Windows 10 combines the live tiles of Windows 8 and the familiar Start menu into a new, re-sizable menu. You can pin tiles for your favorite apps to see at-a-glance information like upcoming meetings, weather forecasts, news stories, sports results and messages from Twitter, Facebook and email. Tiles animate to show new content and you can group and name them the way you could in Windows 8. How useful you find them depends on which apps you like enough to pin.

The rest of the Start menu is a scrolling list of apps and controls. Anniversary Update divides this into two: on the left is the increasingly ubiquitous hamburger menu that you can expand for a reminder that the tiny icons are (in turn) a fly-out menu letting you change your account settings, lock the PC or sign out, along with icons for File Explorer and Settings and another menu with the power options. Annoyingly, expanding this section hides the rest of the apps list, so you can't leave it expanded.

Right click on the Explorer icon for a jump-list with pinned and frequently used folders. If you dig into Settings, you can add extra folders, but only from a standard list.

The scrolling lists of apps have been slightly rearranged in Anniversary Update; at the top is a Recently Added section that appears when you have new apps. Below that is a list of Most Used apps, followed by a Suggested apps section that you can turn off (but that also hides the tips on the mobile-style Lock screen). All of that pushes down the alphabetical list of what you have installed so you may not see many of them without scrolling.

You can search from the Start menu by starting to type – that gives you the same result as tapping in Cortana's search box next to it.

Cortana

Microsoft's virtual assistant, Cortana, still powers the search box on the Windows 10 task bar – where you can type or speak – and in Anniversary Update you can no longer turn her off (though you can turn off personalization if you don't want her to remember things for you). But Cortana goes a long way beyond search, so you probably want to keep her around.

Searching with Cortana is fast and accurate. It finds your files, it finds your folders. It has become quite brilliant. Say, for example, that you type LinkedIn into the menu: you'll be given the option to open the site in your default browser (even if it's Chrome), or you can search for LinkedIn in Bing.

Depending on what you search for, different types of results are prioritized – so the first result might be a setting, an app, a document or a web search. You can also pick the category to search: apps, documents (including OneNote and files on OneDrive that you're not syncing), folders, music, videos, photos or settings.

Type in a sum or a currency conversion and Cortana does the maths for you. Type in the name of a city or a celebrity and you get a nib of relevant information – that all comes from the answers you get for those kind of searches on Bing, but if there's a match in your documents for the same term you'll see that first. The only annoyance is that you can't pin the search results open – if you need to open a couple of documents from the results, you have to run the search twice.

Type in commands like 'remind me' to set quick alarms and appointments. And in Anniversary Update, you can use that to remember useful information like your passport number, or anything else you want to jot down. Ask Cortana 'what is my passport number' later and you'll see it pop up. Type 'send a text' to write an SMS on your PC and send it from a phone you have the Cortana app installed on. You can also ask her to sing you a song or tell you a joke (they're usually terrible jokes).

Cortana uses the news interests you set up on Bing as well as your search history to show you news stories and refine search suggestions – these, your reminders, accounts Cortana can get information from (ranging from Xbox Live and Office 365 to Uber and LinkedIn) and other information about your interests are stored in the Cortana Notebook.

You can customize settings for different areas of interest, from Academic Topics to Getting Around, Music, Food and Drink or Weather, or turn off topics you don't want. Reminders and interests sync across every device you use Cortana with, so you can set a reminder on your phone and see it on your PC, or vice versa.

You can also change Cortana's settings to turn voice control on or off, choose what Cortana can index to learn more about you, and clear the history that makes searches more accurate.

If you just tap or click without typing anything, Cortana shows you upcoming appointments, Windows tips, news, weather, how many steps you've walked (courtesy of Microsoft Health), along with any activities from your email that look like trips and flights Cortana could track for you. You also get suggestions for other things Cortana can do like keeping a note of when you usually have lunch and warning you if a meeting would clash with that.

With Anniversary Update, Cortana also makes an appearance on the Lock screen, showing upcoming appointments. Initially, that might sound like more of a mobile or tablet feature, giving you a quick overview of your day when you first pick up your device. But if you often leave your PC on and let it lock, seeing a quick glimpse of your calendar from across the room is very handy, and you can use Cortana on the Lock screen to ask questions, set reminders and control the music you're playing.

Annoyingly though, if you turn off Suggested apps in the Start screen, where they take up a lot of space, you also lose Cortana suggestions on the Lock screen, and you can't use the frequently updated Windows Spotlight images – you have to pick one or more images on your PC to be your Lock screen background.

We'd like to see Cortana do a lot more – there are apps like a network speed test built into Bing that it would be great to see inside Cortana – but this is evolving to be a really useful tool that gives you a quick way to do things you'd normally open an app for. Get into the habit and you'll find you keep turning to Cortana – Microsoft's digital assistant could evolve into a whole new way to use your computer. And if you don't like any of that, it's still a great way to search your PC.

File Explorer enhancements

File Explorer has been given a little bit of a makeover, and in Anniversary Update it gets a new icon. You now have a Quick Access area to which you can pin and unpin any folders you want to regularly access. In the 'home' screen of File Explorer you can also see Frequent Folders and Recent Files. It's much more helpful now.

You can pin things permanently to Quick Access by right clicking them and selecting Add to Quick access.

There are a lot more file operations that you can access on the ribbon at the top of the window without the need to use the right click menu.

The old Windows 8 Share logo is now used for file sharing from all apps. You can choose to email a file straight from the File Explorer window or add it to a ZIP file.

Microsoft OneDrive gets a section in File Explorer, but that's only a shortcut to files and folders you've chosen to sync. You no longer see placeholders for files that are only in the cloud – a feature that confused some users but also made your whole cloud drive available at any time. To see your files in the cloud now, you have to go online and use the OneDrive Store app.

Settings

In Windows 8, this was annoyingly basic and many options were still in the Control Panel. Control Panel is still there in Windows 10, and if you're a technical user, you will come across it from time to time. But the majority of users will never see it.

Settings is now a far more comprehensive solution and is much more logically arranged. There are still a few things you'll need the Control Panel for – to reset a network adapter, for example – but they're few and far between.

You've been able to search the Control Panel from the Start menu since Windows Vista – with the Settings app in Windows 10, what you get from that search is a clean, clear interface where you can easily see what it is you need to change.

Microsoft is still keen to get developers to build new mobile-style apps for Windows 10 that are more secure, don't get to do things that affect performance and battery life, can be uninstalled with a single click, and can potentially run on multiple devices. The hope is that developers will write their apps for the Universal Windows Platform and they'll work across PC, Windows 10 on smartphones, and Xbox, too – essentially on every screen size.

There are tools to help developers convert Android and iOS apps, and even desktop PC apps. Businesses can deploy apps from their own versions of the Windows Store. This is all handled from the Business Store Portal, which will manage software licences, centralized payment info and more.

Universal Apps and the new Windows Store

Universal apps are the latest version of what Microsoft was calling Metro, Modern and Store apps in Windows 8. Apps written for Windows 8 will still run, but with the Charms bar and the touch gestures for opening app controls gone, Microsoft has crammed in a rather awkward menu bar of app commands for any apps that haven't been rewritten for Windows 10. Apps that have been rewritten tend to use the hamburger menu, which gets annoying on a desktop PC where there is plenty of space on-screen for navigation but the hamburger menu keeps hiding the options.

Windows 10 is slowly getting more apps: there's a new Amazon app, there's a good VLC app and if you buy a wireless security camera like the Ring you'll find an app here for it. But the Store is still smaller than the iOS and Android equivalents.

In Anniversary Update, the Store gets yet another redesign, full of top picks, featured apps, lists and collections. It feels like there are almost as many ways to look through the apps as there are interesting apps to look for.

Built-in Windows 10 apps

However, the operating system's built-in apps are still improving, and Anniversary Update adds some extras. The new Photos app shows you all the pictures on your PC and in your OneDrive account, with some handy editing tools. It's fast, responsive and easy to use.

The Mail and Calendar apps don't match Outlook – either the desktop or the smartphone versions – but they're perfectly functional and competent apps.

With social media integration gone (Twitter and Facebook wouldn't play along and other social networks don't seem interested), the People app is reduced to a basic address book. You can't even select multiple contacts to delete or link them together (you can only link contacts one by one).

Sport and News stay useful, even if they still feel a little superfluous. They start quickly but you may use them most as live tiles in the Start menu. While diehard sports fans may not get enough information from the Sport app, News is a decent aggregator of stories (the page covering local news sources is especially good). The Money app is handy if you track shares or want to follow the market. You can still get the Reader app from the Store, but it's no longer installed by default.

Maps continues to improve. In Anniversary Update you can see multiple maps and locations on different tabs, view traffic, accidents and traffic cameras – and even draw routes on a map with your finger or a pen, then measure the distance or get directions (which is far easier than right clicking and dragging pushpins to get the route you want).

The Groove Music app (named for the music subscription service you might once have known as Xbox Music) certainly pushes the Groove Music Pass subscription in the new Explore section – but it also works well with music on your PC or OneDrive (it can be slow to index music on a network drive).

Groove has come on leaps and bounds since earlier versions of the app. It finally has a thumbnail media player control that pops up when you hover over the Groove icon in the task bar when there's music playing. In Anniversary Update we particularly like the Your Groove playlists that automatically create various playlists of your tracks – long tracks, tracks that are getting played a lot on the Groove service, tracks you haven't listened to in a while, tracks to help you cope with Monday mornings… they change frequently but you can save them for later.

You can't create your own smart playlists though – something even the Zune Player had and Windows Media Player can do (let alone iTunes) – and if you want to use a favorite artist as the seed for a playlist that streams as a 'radio channel' you need a Groove Pass. Even so, Groove is definitely worth trying for playing your music, if not for managing it.

Another app that's dramatically improved is Skype Preview, which is automatically installed in Anniversary Update and replaces the separate Skype Video and Messaging apps (but you can keep the desktop Skype app too).

If you tried an earlier version of this, don't despair; it now has an excellent set of features and is fast and responsive. It also has the dialler that was missing in early versions, along with video calls and chat (both of which can be one to one or group conversations).

It's very well integrated into Windows 10 – you can reply to chat messages straight from the Action Center notification and you don't need to have the app running to receive calls. You can also try out Skype bots; the Foursquare and IFTTT bots look interesting but these are all still fairly basic.

Windows 7 was such a great version of Windows. Aside from the fact that it trumped Vista with its resource efficiency, general robustness and modest system requirements, it also brought us something else: Aero Snap.

Snap and virtual desktops

The ability to snap windows to the sides of your screen might seem a minor thing, but it's something many Windows users do every day. Apple has obviously realised that Mac users employ third-party extensions to get the same effect; the company introduced window snapping in OS X El Capitan.

Windows 8 added the option to resize both snapped windows at once, but coupled it with modern apps that had to stay in a separate window entirely. Windows 10 put modern apps on the desktop along with everything else but originally dropped the linked resizing. That's now back in the finger-friendly Tablet Mode that only shows two windows, and on the desktop as well, so if you want to snap windows to be a third and two-thirds of the screen, it's easy.

Tablet Mode is Microsoft's nod to Windows 8, and to people who buy the many tablet PCs it believes will be sold over the coming years. As does Intel – it's putting a lot of weight behind 2-in-1 PCs with detachable keyboards.

Originally named Continuum (although that moniker now covers a range of features including the way Windows Mobile phones can use a big screen and keyboard), Windows 10's Tablet Mode is clever because it's automatic. Detach the keyboard and the desktop prepares itself for touch – the Start menu becomes the Start screen and apps appear full-screen. That was one thing Windows 8 got right; a screen of apps is a better launcher for touch-enabled devices when you don't have a keyboard.

The Taskbar has also changed to be more touch-friendly – the icons are more spaced out, while the pinned app icons don't appear at all, you just cycle through them in Task View. You can choose what icons to show in the system tray. The Start icon is now joined by a back button, so you can cycle back to previous apps – even if you were in the Start menu before.

If you want, you can toggle between Tablet Mode and non-Tablet yourself via the settings at the bottom of the Action Center. This could be useful if, say, you have a touchscreen laptop and want to put it into Tablet Mode for a presentation.

Windows 10 also added four-way Aero Snap, so you can have four applications in each corner of your desktop. Now, if you've got a laptop screen this is about the most inefficient way you could use your desktop, but if you've got a whopping 27+-inch display it might be just the ticket.

The alternative is the virtual desktops in Windows 10, where you can spread apps out over multiple, separate desktops and swap between them.

Task View

Alt-Tab has been the way to see what apps are running for decades, but few users are familiar with it. Over the years Microsoft has added other ways to switch between open apps, like the 3D Windows Flip view in Windows Vista and the left swipe in Windows 8.1.

Windows 10 uses both Alt-Tab and Windows-Tab for a thumbnail view of running apps, but there's also a new full-screen Task View, and a permanent icon on the taskbar for it, next to the Cortana search bar (although you can turn it off).

It takes you to an app overview where you can use the mouse to select the app you want. It's pretty clever, and in any mode of Windows 10 there is always an icon for it on the taskbar.

But there is something else Task View can do – multiple desktops. Go into Task View and there's an icon in the bottom-right that enables you to add another desktop, so you can have one screen for your email, perhaps, and another for your Photoshop work. This is a nice new feature for Windows, although it has been on the Mac for years – since OS X 10.5 Leopard introduced 'Spaces' in 2009.

Apps can be open in more than one desktop, but you can't switch into windows that are on another desktop; things are kept nicely separate. Alt-Tab only works within the desktop you're in. The only way to switch desktops is to go into Task View and select another open desktop. From here you can also close desktops using the X icon that appears when you hover over each desktop icon.

In Anniversary Update, you can have an app you need all the time show up on all your desktops – either the whole app, or just a window from it (like the chat you're in, for example).

Other enhancements

More and more PCs that come with Windows 10 include biometric security hardware that enables you to use a fingerprint, face scan or iris scan to log into Windows and apps, websites and networks. This is called Windows Hello (the secure storage of your credentials used to have a different name, Windows Passport, but in Anniversary Update, it all has the same name).

Windows also asks you to set up a PIN to use instead of your password. This makes it easier to log into Windows when you don't have a keyboard – it's all part of making Windows a more phone-like experience – but it also means your credentials are stored more securely in the TPM (PINs go into this secure hardware, passwords don't).

Surprisingly, it turns out Windows Hello wasn't already using the same hardware-protected secure area that the business security features like Credential Guard use in the release version of Windows 10 – but with Anniversary Update, your biometric data is stored in there too.

In Anniversary Update, Hello supports the latest standard, FIDO 2. This is what lets you use Hello biometrics instead of passwords in apps and in the Edge browser, but it only works for apps and sites that explicitly support it – and so far that's just the Store app, where you can buy apps with your face quite happily.

If you don't have biometrics on your PC, Anniversary Update will let you use a phone with a fingerprint or iris scanner, or a USB device, or even a wearable like a smartwatch to sign in securely, but there aren't many devices that support FIDO 2 yet to make that work.

Windows Defender will now automatically run quick scans even if you have other antivirus software, which is good, but it comes with an annoying new notification in the Action Center to tell you that it has run and not found any problems. You can't turn that off without turning off a lot of other notifications as well.

The useful but controversial Wi-Fi Sense feature for sharing wireless connections with your friends is gone – not because of the controversy (it doesn't leak your Wi-Fi passwords) but because it wasn't used enough to be worth continuing.

The long-promised enterprise data protection to let admins control what apps and documents you can use, and where you can save files, has finally showed up as Windows Information Protection – and the businesses who want it will already have the management tools like Intune that it needs. Similarly, Anniversary Update includes the agent for the new Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection, but businesses will need to subscribe to the service to use it.

We still like the updated Snipping Tool which lets you set a delay so that you can screenshot those pesky menus you couldn't keep open before.

Power users appreciated the way Windows 10 updated the Command Prompt window – small beer, you might say, but you're now able to properly select text, and copy and paste in and out. Ctrl-V really will work. Text also re-flows as the window is resized.

And in Anniversary Update, the Windows Subsystem for Linux means you can run real Linux applications, in particular the Bash shell; handy for developers and web admins. If you use Hyper-V to run virtual machines, you can now run Hyper-V inside a virtual machine, so you can run another virtual machine inside that one (and so on, until you run out of resources).

High DPI PCs with multiple screens get some improvements in Anniversary Update, with the promise of a more comprehensive overhaul in future. Especially if you dock a high DPI device like a Surface Pro 4, you can find some applications displaying at the wrong resolution on different screens.

Windows can't fix all the problems for older apps, and we still found that some apps display icons that are too tiny to be easy to use, but there are definite improvements in Anniversary Update – applications that use WPF will scale properly and updates are coming for PowerPoint and Skype for Business (that only fix the problem on Anniversary Update).

Notepad getting high DPI support is nice for Notepad users, but more importantly it means the improvements are in this release ready for other app developers to use.

Unlike Windows 8, it's been easy to follow along with the Windows 10 journey and see how the OS has developed, from an early work in progress, through the release version and the major updates. With the latest Creators Update, Windows 10 sees more new features at once than ever and improvements to several existing tools. There are few situations in which we wouldn't unequivocally recommend Windows 10 – but remember that you now have to pay to upgrade.

Another key idea behind Windows 10 is also sound: that it should be available on as many devices as possible. That's why there's Xbox One and HoloLens and the Internet of Things version that works on a Raspberry Pi come in; Microsoft is embracing the way PCs have moved away from the traditional idea of what a PC is.

We liked

Windows 10 performance continues to impress, as does its reliability, and Microsoft has carried on evolving the interface, which now satisfies both the Windows 7 faithful and the few Windows 8.1 fans.

Core features like search (through Cortana) are absolutely rock solid. The Settings app (a disappointment even in Windows 8.1) remains a worthy replacement for the Control Panel. It's testament to the newfound strength of Settings that, while the Control Panel is still present, you'll hardly ever go to it.

Under the covers, security is improved even more now with Creators Update, and with Windows Hello and biometric support, we're on the verge of ditching passwords (if more websites and apps join in). Transparency has also seen a huge boost here, with a brand new out-of-the-box experience.

The Windows Ink and gaming improvements this year are perhaps the most important to those respective ends of Windows 10 yet, and Paint 3D brings a whole new kind of creation tool to the masses.

We disliked

Even in introducing some new features, Microsoft has done so in an incomplete way, as mentioned in our impressions of Edge. We’re still not sold on switching over. The new tab management experience is welcome, but feels a little incomplete. Meanwhile, the e-reader upgrades are massive, but feel as if they’re serving a niche that’s long been filled.

Also, while we appreciate the improvements to transparency, it still doesn’t change the fact that Microsoft is collecting lots of data about your use of its software.

Finally, we’re bummed that some key upgrades, like the major Cortana improvements, aren’t functional in time for this review.

Final verdict

Ultimately, something for everyone in Windows 10 Creators Update, from Night Light to improvements to gaming and Windows Ink, as well as a new e-reader in Edge and a Paint 3D app.

That said, it still has its share of irritations, and there are some people who are so comfortable on Windows 7 (or even 8.1) that they won't want to upgrade until those OS’s get long in the tooth (or they replace the older peripherals for which hardware makers haven't put out device drivers).

Microsoft remains committed to the idea of universal apps, which now run on Xbox One (and HoloLens, for the few people who have access to it) as well as on Windows Mobile, and Store apps in general (which, confusingly, might not).

The quality of these remains mixed: Mail and Calendar are competent but a long way behind the versions on Windows Mobile with Outlook, Groove is shaping up to be an excellent media player (although you need to pay for a Groove Pass or put your music on OneDrive to make the most of it) and the Skype is at last fully usable. Edge has also graduated into a viable state. And not only have desktop apps not been pushed aside, Microsoft is working on making them look better on high DPI, multi-screen systems.

But mostly, the Creators Update solidifies the success Windows 10 has shown itself to be over the last year. Installation is simple, performance is generally excellent, security is improved (with more options for businesses) – and the most compelling thing about Windows 10 is that it just works. There's not really a learning curve as there was with Windows 8 or 8.1. Even if people don't get to grips with features like the taskbar search or Task View, it won't actually take anything away from their core experience of the OS. Pretty much everything that most people will need is in the Start menu or Action Center.

Plus, knowing that there’s even more to come after the Creators Update instills some good faith that Windows 10 will continue to improve.

]]>Dell XPS 13http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/laptops-portable-pcs/laptops-and-netbooks/dell-xps-13-1328971/review
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/laptops-portable-pcs/laptops-and-netbooks/dell-xps-13-1328971/reviewPanache, performance and price lets us overlook minor design flaws and again mark the Dell XPS 13 as Best in Class.Mon, 11 Dec 2017 22:20:00 +0000techradar.comOnce again, the Dell XPS 13 is TechRadar’s best laptop to date, earning our Best in Class award for the third year running. Why? Because Dell managed to improve on its winning design in two of the most key areas: performance and battery life.

You see, this version of the XPS 13 lasts around 30% longer on a charge than the previous generation and blew away its own records in performance benchmarks, thanks to brand-new, 8th generation Intel Core processors. That said, Dell has yet to address some minor flaws in its design, namely its webcam and speaker placement.

However, despite these minor bugbears, we’re left enamored by one of the best-looking and- feeling laptops we’ve tested to date, married with impeccable performance for reasonable prices. As such, the XPS 13 continues to be the laptop to beat.

Price and availability

Just like last year, the Dell XPS 13 starts at the arguably reasonable price of $799 in the US, with four different configurations available, starting with an full HD InfinityEdge display paired with an 8th-generation Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB solid-state drive (SSD) and capping out with a QHD+ (3,200 x 1,800) touchscreen backed by an Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for $1,749. The configuration we’ve tested here costs $1,299, £1,268.99 or AU$2,299.

(Pricier configurations include Windows Hello through a fingerprint sensor.)

In the UK, however, prices begin at £1,118.99 with a whopping 11 different configurations, starting with a 7th-generation Core i7 processor behind an FHD display as well as 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. The top end sees the XPS 13 with a QHD+ touchscreen backed by an 8th-generation Intel Core i7 processor as well as 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD for a cool £1,818.98. (In the UK, you can also get several configurations pre-loaded with Ubuntu Linux instead of Windows 10.)

Finally, the Australian model starts at AU$799 for a 7th-generation Intel Core i5 processor behind an FHD panel and with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. At the highest end of its huge 10 configurations in the region, the XPS 13 costs AU$2,399 for a QHD+ display powered by an 8th-generation Intel Core i7 processor with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. The Rose Gold-colored model costs an extra AU$100 for the same innards.

For comparison’s sake, the 13-inch MacBook Prostarts the price discussion at $1,299, £1,249 or AU$1,899 for a 7th-generation Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD behind its 2,560 x 1,600 Retina display. Meanwhile, the Surface Laptop from Microsoft costs $999, £979 or AU$1,499 for a 2,256 x 1,504 PixelSense touchscreen backed by a 7th-generation Intel Core i5 processor with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD.

For all intents and purposes, the XPS 13 seems to continue to present not only more options, but better value across the board than its highest-profile competitors.

Design

If you liked the look and feel of last year’s Dell XPS 13, then you’re in luck. If not, then this year’s rendition will do nothing to sway you. This is because absolutely nothing about the laptop’s dimensions, weight or frame design has changed.

The Dell XPS 13 is no thinner or lighter than before, at 2.9 pounds (1.29kg) for the glossy, QHD+ touchscreen model or 2.7 pounds (1.2kg) for the matte, FHD-screened version and at 0.6 inches (15mm) thick in either configuration.

Of course, the same gorgeous, machined aluminum lid and base that beset a comfy, carbon fiber keyboard deck coated in soft-touch paint are here – and in the expected Silver and Rose Gold colors, no less.

The keyboard and touchpad are just as sublime to use as they have been in years past. With deep-enough travel and punchy feedback, the keyboard remains among the best we’ve used on a laptop, while the glass-coated touchpad tracks gestures handily and offers strong palm rejection (which protects against accidental presses by your wrist when typing).

All told, we’re still taken by the XPS 13’s design, even if basically nothing was done for better or worse. All of the same ports feature in this model again, which is a major plus considering how comprehensive the set is. However, the 720p webcam – despite it working just fine – is still set to the bottom-left bezel of the display. Simply put, this is not great design and needs to be changed.

Display and sound

This time around, we’ve had the opportunity to test the FHD, or 1,920 x 1,080-resolution, version of the Dell XPS 13 InfinityEdge display. While QHD+ is a pleasure to work with, we find the FHD option to be just fine for what most folks will use the laptop for.

Color reproduction is still spot-on, and the matte coating versus the necessary glass for the QHD+ touchscreen actually works in its favor when under direct light, managing glare much more easily. Plus, the 400 nits worth of brightness works well to that end, too. Video still looks excellent on the laptop, but as for the sound, we’d appreciate an upgrade at this point.

You see, with just two, awfully-thin stereo speakers on each side of the laptop just above the point where the aluminum base and keyboard deck meet, only so much sound can get through. That leads to rather tinny audio despite strong volume, thanks to Waves MaxxAudio Pro tuning. While there’s a headphone jack, if there were top-firing speakers either beside or underneath the keyboard, that would go a long way to improving sound quality.

Still, despite these audio issues, we’d argue that the XPS 13 continues to make for a better professional or even ‘prosumer’ laptop than the 13-inch MacBook Pro. From the amount of configuration options to the ports on offer and the component quality versus the price, your mileage will vary far less with the XPS 13 than with Apple’s latest laptop.

First reviewed December 2017

Now with 8th-generation Intel Core processors inside, the Dell XPS 13, rather unsurprisingly, has proven to be more powerful and longer lasting than ever. The Intel Core i7-8850U inside our review unit smashed our gamut of benchmarks and shined through real-world use.

As you can see with the benchmarks, the XPS 13 has improved in literally every regard.

Performance

The Core i7 CPU performs better in graphical applications, like rendering video and even 3D elements, as it does in multitasking and web browsing.

While it won’t play the latest and greatest 3D PC games, you’ll be able to enjoy the XPS 13’s ability to run multiple tasks at once and run lighter indie games.

For instance, we witnessed zero lag or slow down running more than a dozen Google Chrome tabs – including word processing, spreadsheet and music streaming tabs – and the Slack chat app, even on battery.

Plus, the SD card slot practically invites photo editing on the XPS 13, and the Core i7 chip will gladly deliver on that front, too.

Battery life

That said, the most marked improvement we’ve seen in the XPS 13 from the 2016 model to this year’s is the device’s lasting power. The laptop lasted a whole hour and 22 minutes longer through the grueling PCMark 8 battery life test, and a whopping 3 hours and 16 minutes longer through our own local video playback test.

These results aren’t that much closer to Dell’s own claims of 22 hours of continuous use from the FHD model. However, they’re much stronger than the latest MacBook Pro and Surface Laptop’s results in the TechRadar movie test of 6 hours and 37 minutes, and 8 hours and 47 minutes, respectively.

So, in general use, expect the latest Dell XPS 13 – at least the FHD model – to last through short to medium-haul flights with some power to spare whenever you reach your destination.

We liked

The Dell XPS 13 puts the new, 8th-generation Intel Core processors to excellent use, enabling the most powerful and longest-lasting XPS 13 we’ve ever tested. Not to mention that it has one of the longest battery lives of any laptop we’ve reviewed – period.

We disliked

While we know that an XPS 13 redesign is on the horizon, we would have liked to see some of our bugbears with this current design resolved by now. Namely, the poor webcam position and audio performance are in sore need of work.

Final verdict

All that said, the pure marriage of panache, performance and price allows us to overlook these minor flaws and once again bestow the Dell XPS 13 with our Best in Class award. While the design remains unchanged year-over-year, this is still one of the best-feeling and- looking laptops we’ve reviewed to date.

That’s before you even get into the performance you’ll see out of this mobile machine, with massive gains in pure benchmark numbers and battery life. That this laptop outlasts the latest MacBook Pro is testament to its longevity.

With more options and a stronger price-per-part proposition than the leading-most laptops from both Microsoft and Apple, you’d be hard-pressed to find a laptop that’s more fitting for more people than the Dell XPS 13.

]]>Dell XPS 13 (2016)http://www.techradar.com/reviews/dell-xps-13-2016
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/dell-xps-13-2016By sitting back and refining its winning product, Dell has managed to make yet another winning Ultrabook.Mon, 11 Dec 2017 21:55:33 +0000techradar.comThis is a review of the 2016 Dell XPS 13 model. Click the following link to read our review of the very latest, 2017 Dell XPS 13.

The Dell XPS 13 epitomizes laptops in a way that Apple should envy at this point. For the past few years, it’s become the ‘default’ notebook here at TechRadar, and we assure you that’s not because of popularity and name recognition alone. This thing sets a standard for fast mobile computers that you won’t be embarrassed to carry around in public.

Better yet, by our own contention, it’s the best laptop to date. At a time when 2-in-1 devices have begun to emerge and everyone wants their hands on the latest novelty, however, it’s also strikingly conservative. Sure, it feels like a top-quality machine, but if you’re looking for groundbreaking, you might be wary that something better will come along.

Inevitably – as new technology develops – that will happen, but the Dell XPS 13 is the safest bet you can bank on. The keyboard is comfy, albeit conventional, the border-less screen is sharp on the high-end and there aren’t any risky design choices that will turn you off. It’s practically the antithesis to the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar in that it has all of its ports and the function keys are all present.

At the same time, the Dell XPS 13 is mighty powerful, and though we’ve yet to get our hands on the latest version, it is available with 8th-generation Intel processors as an option. In fact, there are so many variables with the Dell XPS 13 that it’s tough to generalize. Of course, every model comes with USB ports and an SD card reader, but the guts differ drastically based on how much money you’re willing to spend.

Price and availability

There are various avenues for buying the Dell XPS 13, so stick with us. While it starts at $799 (£999, AU$1,899), that only fetches you a dual-core Intel Core i3 CPU, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD storage paired with a full HD, 1,920 x 1,080 InfinityEdge screen. That’s for a non-touch screen, too, if that matters to you.

Meanwhile, the UK and Australian versions of the Dell XPS 13 base model come sporting an Intel Core i5 processor – sorry, US readers, it looks like you’ll be given the short end of the stick.

Still, you can always configure your laptop with upgrades and, in classic Dell fashion, there are a multitude of these in tow. You can add a touchscreen, for instance, bearing a 3,200 x 1,800-pixel resolution. However, there’s a steep price difference in doing so, as this Core i5-equipped model also requires that you shell out a grand total of $1,299 (£1,249, AU$2,499).

As of late 2017, there are several configurations you can buy that feature 8th-generation Intel Kaby Lake Refresh processors. These start at $1,299 in the US and go up from there. In the UK and Australia, you can snatch one up for £1,149 and AU$1,999, respectively.

Design

To be fair, there isn’t a lot to be said of the XPS 13’s design this time around, as very little, if anything, has changed. You still have the 13.3-inch display as sharp as QHD+ (3,200 x 1,800 pixels) with optional touch controls tightly packed within an 11-inch-wide frame.

And, you still have the beautiful, machined aluminum lid and base that beset a comfy, carbon fiber keyboard deck coated in soft-touch paint. Only this time, the lid and base come in rose gold – the salmon shade that’s all the rage in tech products these days – as well as the traditional silver option.

The machine somehow measures even thinner than the previous generation, though only by a hair: 0.33 inches (9mm) at its thinnest point to 0.6 inches (15mm) at its thickest. For those keeping score, the previous model came in at two hundredths of an inch thicker at the nose.

Dell has also lowered the weight of its leading laptop, but by such a small degree it would be impossible to notice: from 2.93 pounds (1.32kg) to now just 2.9 pounds (1.29kg) even for the touchscreen model. Short of a major breakthrough in the materials used to construct the XPS 13, we’re likely looking at the thinnest and lightest Ultrabook from Dell for a while. (Please, prove us wrong.)

All told, we’re still smitten by the XPS 13 design, and frankly we’re happy it hasn’t changed much, because it doesn’t have to. One small request: if Dell could at least center that bottom bezel-oriented webcam like it has on the new Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, that would be clutch.

More ‘pro’ than the MacBook Pro?

During our time with the new XPS 13, we came to a crucial realization: this laptop can match and even surpass the 13-inch MacBook Pro in almost every regard. For 100 bucks less than Apple’s latest laptop, the XPS 13 offers a sharper screen, a stronger processor and the same amount of RAM and storage.

Oh, and this guy has a full-size SD card slot.

The MacBook Pro? You’ll get one more Thunderbolt 3 port – one of which needs to be used for charging – and little else for its starting price. On paper, it seems like the XPS 13 will give you a better time editing photos and video than its archnemesis. Well played, Dell.

Gabe Carey and Nick Pino have also contributed to this review.

First reviewed January 2017

We’ve already touched on how the XPS 13 stacks up against the MacBook Pro – incredibly well, actually. But how about some choice competitors running Windows 10?

The Razer Blade Stealth, for instance, starts at $899 (about £736, AU$1,206) for a QHD (2,560 x 1,440 pixels), non-touch screen with the same 7th generation Intel processor and amount of RAM as well as storage. It’s a bit better off in visuals and offer more ports overall, but lacks that SD card reader. From there, the Blade Stealth gains a beefier Core i7 processor and more RAM and storage for much less than Dell can currently offer, but will always lack an SD card reader. That said, the Blade Stealth can more easily play games using Razer’s Core graphics card box.

Meanwhile, the HP Spectre x360 is a convertible 2-in-1 that doesn’t start for nearly as cheap as the XPS 13 at $1,049 or AU$2,199 (about £859) for the same processor and RAM capacity, but it offers double the storage behind an FHD touch display. From there, the Spectre x360 also gets more powerful innards for less and tops it off with a sharper UHD (3,840 x 2,160 pixels) screen for less than the highest-end XPS 13. This machine also lacks the SD card reader.

All told, the new XPS 13 can fit the mold of both a creative professional and the casual user’s life more readily than these two aforementioned laptops. But, that comes at the cost of a price curve that isn’t as generous as its rivals.
It all comes down to what you want out of your next laptop. If that’s versatility between professional and personal use, then the XPS 13 is tough to beat.

Performance

The XPS 13 sent to us for review came packing the 2.7GHz, dual-core Intel Core i7-7500U processor powering the 3,200 x 1,800 resolution touchscreen with 8GB of RAM behind it. As you can see from the benchmarks, this chip has no problem gobbling up the various tests thrown its way.

That is, save for graphics output. You might be able to squeeze some Hearthstone or basic indie games out of this laptop, but if it’s gaming you want, check out something like the Alienware 13.

Getting back to general performance, we encountered zero issues with the XPS 13 during our usual workload. That’s 10-plus Google Chrome browser tabs with various spreadsheets, documents and webpages therein alongside the Slack chat client.

And, speaking of photo editing, the XPS 13 handled Lightroom with nary a problem. In fact, editing photos through a QHD+ screen helps take far better advantage of the RAW image files than even a QHD display. Exports tend to choke the system slightly, but that’s to be expected on most devices short of those with gobs of memory and desktop-grade processors.

All in all, expect some top-notch performance from this nearly top-end, $1,599 (£1,179, AU$2,499) version of the XPS 13. Though, we wouldn’t expect drastically worse output from the Core i5 variety.

Battery life

Dell, like all the other laptop makers, promises some insane longevity from the XPS 13, to the tune of up to 22 hours from the FHD model (Core i3) and 13 hours from the QHD+ version (Core i5) in the MobileMark 14 test. Since we’re testing the Core i7 variety with the QHD+ screen, we haven’t enjoyed nearly as long of battery life from the XPS 13.

Of course, that’s not to say the numbers we’ve recorded aren’t impressive. A score of 4 hours and 3 minutes is actually more than acceptable from the notoriously unforgiving PCMark 8 battery test. Better yet, the XPS 13 lasted a cool 7 hours and 13 minutes playing Guardians of the Galaxy at 1080p on loop. That’s just minutes from the 13-inch MacBook Pro’s figure of 7 hours and 24 minutes on the same test.

Both tests are conducted with the screen and volume at 50% with all radios but Wi-Fi deactivated as well as keyboard backlighting disabled.

If you were to use the Windows 10 Battery Saver mode throughout your use of the XPS 13 while away from an outlet, surely you could squeeze at least another hour out of the device. At that point, you’re looking at all-day battery life, the gold standard for laptops today.

All in all, the new XPS 13 does exactly what it needed to do to remain king of the hill in the laptop world in our eyes: improve and refine. By virtue of sticking to some old guns in an SD card slot and barrel connector for power, while adopting fresher tech at a slower pace (Thunderbolt 3 USB-C), the XPS 13 is better suited for a wider swathe of individuals than most of today’s top laptops.

We liked

The fact that the XPS 13 hasn’t changed all that much in a sea of laptops, which can’t seem to stop going thinner and adopting the newest tech wholecloth, and it actually works to its benefit. Dell is clearly aware that, frankly, some legacy features are still more attractive than the new hotness, like SD card slots and dedicated power ports. Couple that with the latest processor and a seriously sharp screen for one of, if not, the laptop to beat.

We disliked

There isn’t much that left us sour regarding the XPS 13, save for one feature that sorely needs a change: the webcam. For at least the past two iterations now, the XPS 13 webcam has been relegated to the far bottom-left end of the screen bezel. Frankly, holding video meetings or just calling friends or family over Skype is neither a productive or fun experience with the webcam oriented this way. We can only hope the XP 13 2-in-1 webcam design will bleed over into this model in the next revision.

Final verdict

Aside from that one mostly harmless shortcoming, the Dell XPS 13 persists as a thoroughly impressive piece of consumer computing hardware. Best of all, few modifications had to be made to get it to that point.

With this update, Dell manages to either meet or beat the new MacBook Pro, spec-for-spec, for 100 bucks less. If you’re torn between this laptop and Apple’s latest, we hope we’ve now made that decision easier for you.

But, even against the spate of Windows-bound laptops that have adopted burgeoning technologies whole cloth, the XPS 13 stands out with a healthy balance of old and new tech inside a device that’s comfortable to use for as long as it can last – a long time. For that reason, the Dell XPS 13 wins our Best in Class award.

While most modern monitors and widescreen TVs have an aspect ratio of 16:9, a 21:9 aspect ratio means the screen is a lot wider on the horizontal plane. This extra visual real estate doesn’t just benefit games, as a wider screen can help productivity as well, allowing you to have far more open windows than usual.

However, with the Alienware brand, it’s no surprise that the AW3418DW is a gaming monitor first and foremost, and it goes up against the likes of the AOC Agon AG352UCG and LG 34UC79G-B, two fantastic monitors which have made it onto our best gaming monitor list.

So, with some pretty stiff competition, let’s see how the Alienware AW3418DW performs.

Price and availability

Alienware is a brand that’s often associated with premium prices, and with ultrawide gaming monitors rarely coming cheap, it may come as little surprise that the Alienware AW3418DW is a pricey monitor, with a $999 price (£1,100, AU$2,099).

Compared to the AOC Agon AG352UCG’s price of $899 (£799, around AU$1,200), this is a far more expensive proposition. That could be a bit of an issue for the Alienware, as – on paper – the AOC offers a slightly larger screen size (35-inches), along with many of the same features, such as G-Sync (high refresh rates for smoother gameplay) and a 3,440 x 1,440 resolution.

So, the AW3418DW has to prove the extra money is worth it in the performance department.

One thing that the Alienware AW3418DW has that its competitors do not, and which may make the high price tag worthwhile, is its ability to be overclocked to a 120Hz refresh rate, making it faster than its rivals.

Design

One of the main things Alienware products are known for (apart from their high prices), are the sleek and eye-catching designs that embrace gamer aesthetics without being too over-the-top and garish. So, colored LEDs, metallic shades and sharp angles are all present and correct, but there’s also a, shall we say, ‘maturity’ about the design that means it’s a good-looking gaming monitor, without offending anyone’s tastes.

Due to the size of the screen, the Alienware AW3418DW comes in a very large box. Luckily, once opened, it is easily put together without the need for any tools. This makes setup much easier, and the hardware still feels nice and sturdy. Once set up, the screen can be easily adjusted to make it more comfortable to use.

The thin bezels around the screen, especially the top and bottom, means the monitor isn’t taking up wasted space – but, bear in mind that this is a large monitor, and it will dominate pretty much any desk you put it on. The stand, made from metallic-coated plastic and featuring the Alienware logo in various places, does take up quite a bit of space on the desk as well, more so than the stands we’ve seen on other ultrawide monitors.

The back of the monitor is silver, with another Alienware ‘alien head’ logo that lights up, and a few more LED strips. Overall, the design here is quite nice and, if you’re not a fan of the LED lighting, you can turn it off using the onscreen menu.

Back to the front, and there’s a simple, yet alluring, line of text in the middle of the bottom bezel that simply says ‘Alienware’. Along the bottom-right side of the screen are the buttons that control the onscreen menu, along with the power button (which is lit up with an LED, which you can change the color of, like the other LED lights on the monitor).

There are no icons or hints of what each button does on the bezel, which keeps things looking neat and tidy. But, that can lead to confusion when trying to use the buttons to go through the menu options. Thankfully, Alienware displays the icons for what each button does when the onscreen menu appears (which happens when any of the buttons are pushed), making things a little easier.

Connection-wise there is an audio-in jack, DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4, a USB upstream port (for connecting to your PC), and two USB 3.0 ports, allowing the monitor to be used as a USB hub. There are another two USB 3.0 ports on the bottom of the screen, along with a headphone jack. If you extend the screen to the top of the stand, these ports are much easier to access than the ones on the back, so we commend Alienware for the clever placement.

Overall, the Alienware AW3418DW is a very nicely designed gaming monitor that sticks close to the look and feel of other Alienware devices. If you have an Alienware Aurora R6 desktop gaming PC, for example, this monitor will compliment it incredibly well. Even if you don’t own any other Alienware stuff, the design is subtle enough to fit in with PCs and peripherals.

Performance

One of the first things you’ll notice when you load up a game and begin playing on the Alienware AW3418DW, apart from the immersive aspect ratio that fills your vision, is just how gloriously smooth gameplay is. This is thanks to the 100Hz refresh rate and G-Sync technology, which offer high frame rates without screen tearing. The results are remarkable.

For most gamers, going back to a monitor without G-Sync will be a real struggle.

While 100Hz is a higher refresh rate than many standard monitors (which usually max out at 60Hz), it’s not quite the highest refresh rate possible for G-Sync monitors, which are capable of up to 240Hz. However, it’s pretty standard for 21:9 monitors, with the LG 34UC79G-B and AOC Agon AG352UCG both offering 100Hz refresh rates.

The Alienware AW3418DW has an ace up its sleeve, however, with an overclock setting that ups the refresh rate to 120Hz.

The jump from 100Hz to 120Hz is pretty noticeable. When overclocked, the action onscreen becomes incredibly smoother. In playing Wolfenstein II, which maxes out at 100Hz, and Call of Duty: WWII, both at 100Hz and 120Hz – in both games, the performance of the Alienware AW3418DW impresses.

The jump from playing at 60Hz to 100Hz really is impressive, and it’s something that you really need to experience yourself. Everything feels much more smooth and responsive, especially with fast-paced action. Going back from 100Hz to 60Hz can be very jarring, almost like the character you’re playing as is wading through quicksand.

Going up to 120Hz is also noticeable. If you have the hardware to cope – we played with an Nvidia Titan Xp graphics card, allowing us to whack graphical settings to the max while maintaining those high refresh and frame rates – you’ll really see the difference.

We’re not exaggerating when we say this is a game changer.

You can also enable a faster response time using the on screen menu, choosing between ‘Normal’, ‘Fast’ and ‘Super Fast.' The idea is that the faster the response time, the less lag there is. So, there is less time between the movements you make with your mouse and keyboard and how your character moves on the monitor.

While this is a welcome option to have, we find that putting the response time to ‘Super Fast’ adds an element of ghosting on screen. This manifests itself during games with a faint grey outline during fast action.

We also notice it outside of gaming and during, for example, browsing websites where the outlines appear around pictures and text when scrolling. It’s a minor complaint, and it can be remedied by setting the responsive time to ‘Normal’, or even ‘Fast’. But, for us, the benefits aren't worth it. The response time of the Alienware AW3418DW (4ms) should be low enough for most people anyway.

As we’d expect from a G-Sync panel, there are no instances of screen tearing when playing. Overall, games look amazing on the screen, and there are enough options for you to tweak the monitor to get your desired performance.

The Alienware AW3418DW also gives you the option of overlaying the frames per second (FPS) count in the top-left hand corner of the screen, which is handy if you want to see how well your hardware is performing. There are enough useful features like this for gamers that help justify the Alienware AW3418DW’s high price tag.

As far as standard image quality goes, the IPS (in-plane switching) panel of the Alienware AW3418DW does an excellent job, though some people may find it a bit bright at its default setting. Luckily, the onscreen menu is easy enough to use that tweaking the settings takes no time at all, and there’s a decent number of pre-set configurations to help as well.

The IPS panel also offers very wide viewing angles, which is pretty essential for an ultrawide monitor (especially a curved one), with color accuracy holding up in every part of the monitor.

Overall, we find the Alienware AW3418DW to be an excellent gaming monitor when it comes to performance, with superb image quality. Also, when overclocked to 120Hz, this is the fastest ultrawide monitor currently on the market. That may just be enough to justify its more expensive price tag compared to its competitors.

Final verdict

There’s a lot to like about the Alienware AW3418DW. It’s large, with the 21:9 aspect ratio really helping to immerse you in your games. This can also give you a competitive edge in that you see more of the battlefield than your competitors.

It’s also fast, with an overclocked refresh rate of 120Hz, making it a speedier ultrawide than any of its competitors. If you’re looking for the fastest 21:9 monitor on the market, there’s only one choice: the Alienware AW3418DW.

G-Sync support (there’s also a version that supports AMD’s competing FreeSync standard), is the icing on the cake, making games even more of a joy to play on this screen.

Then, there’s the design. We’re very taken with the understated, yet still easily identifiable, aesthetics of the Alienware AW3418DW. It’s clearly a gaming monitor, but it doesn’t beat you over the head with a brash design. Instead, it leaves its (excellent) screen to do the talking.

However, there are some aspects of the Alienware AW3418DW that we aren't too fond of, but luckily these were easily out numbered by what we liked.

The high price tag is obviously one of them. Ultrawide screens are never cheap, but the Alienware AW3418DW is a fair bit more expensive than its competitors. If you’re conscious of you budget, then the AOC Agon AG352UCG is a worthy choice.

However, if you’re willing to pay a premium for the fastest ultrawide monitor on the market, then you’ll want to shell out for the Alienware AW3418DW. You won’t be disappointed.

Microsoft Surface Pro 4: The Essential Review

The following section contains all of the key points of our review that you’ll need to know without having to read a full wall of text. For those seeking a try it or buy it recommendation in 30 seconds or less, keep reading – otherwise, skip to ‘Design and display’.

After pervading the market two years ago, the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 remains a Windows 10 fan favorite. Sure, we saw the introduction of the aptly-named Surface Pro in the first half of the year, but the changes weren’t substantial enough to get most of our readers excited.

The Surface Pro 4 was the natural progression of the Surface Pro 3 and the Surface Pro 2 before it. It’s a 2-in-1 laptop in form and a Windows tablet by name, but perhaps its biggest sell is that it’s the first in the series to come with Windows 10 Pro pre-installed. This was huge and still is, considering Surface Pro 3 users were stuck with the controversial Windows 8 unless they opted to perform an upgrade themselves.

With the Surface Pro 4, however, Microsoft was more concerned with perfecting an already-successful design rather than making any bombastic innovations. That’s why it basically retains a similar look and feel to that of the Surface Pro 3, albeit with a few minor refinements including a new chrome-laden Microsoft logo and a chassis more than half a millimeter thinner than the previous generation.

The Surface Pro 4 also managed to introduce more levels of pressure sensitivity and a host of buttons to the signature, but sold separately, Surface Pen. Likewise, the Type Cover keyboard is heavier and more satisfying to the touch, while the screen resolution was bumped all the way to 2,736 x 1,824, making it 216 pixels per inch (ppi), as opposed to the 128 ppi display of the 13-inch MacBook Air.

To be frank, the most impressive aspect of this laptop, more so than any of the iterative refinements, is that the Surface Pro 4 stays well within the same modest price range as its precursor. That’s $799 (£749, AU$899) to start, without the Surface Pen and Type Cover keyboard, though Surface Pen bundles can be found from $999 (£749, AU$1,178).

The biggest drawback for the Surface Pro 4, however, is how difficult it is to find. Unless you’re keen on settling for the basic configuration, with an Intel Core m3 CPU, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD storage space, you won’t find it on the Microsoft Store website – and it’s only available refurbished on Amazon. Regardless, it’s definitely worth it – especially on a budget.

Whereas you can expect to pay $799 (£799, AU$1,199) for an entry-level, fifth-gen Surface Pro with an Intel Core m3 processor paired with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD storage space, you could get a Surface Pro 4 with a possibly more capable Intel Core i5 processor along with the same amount of RAM and storage space for $200 less.

Microsoft Surface Pro 4: Who's it for? Should I buy it?

The Surface Pro 4 appeals to a wide variety of consumers. So, whether you’re a graphic designer or a college student – even, say, an aspiring tech reporter, Microsoft has conjured a fantastic tablet that doubles as an equally great laptop.

So, has Microsoft finally done it? Well, despite the ‘somewhat average battery life’ and the fact that the Type Cover has to be purchased separately unless it’s bought as part of a bundle, we could easily see the Surface Pro 4 as our daily driver. Regardless, it would’ve been nice to have that LTE chip Microsoft reserved for the new Surface Pro with LTE Advanced, available now.

Nevertheless, we adore the sharper, larger display and lighter frame, with the improved Type Cover taking it all to the next level. Still, the fact that the Type Cover still isn’t included by default is a big issue, especially given how essential it is to the core experience of the laptop. More aggravating is that the battery life hasn't improved much either – one of the low points of the previous model.

Despite having come a long way since its reveal two years ago, the Surface Pro 4 is still due for some improvements. The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, for example is now available to download and install, and it comes with a generous helping of long-requested features including ‘Sets’, or tabs for the apps you use outside of your browser.

Likewise, we can count on more hardware updates later on down the road, given that the Surface Book 2 is now in stores.

Design and display

Just like last time, the same all-magnesium, uni-body casing is still here, though the 'Surface' logo has been replaced with Microsoft's new logo in chrome.

Microsoft managed to up the device's screen size by a few hairs, from a straight 12 inches to this year's 12.3 inches, without affecting its footprint at all. In fact, the firm shaved more than half a millimeter off of its thickness, from 9.1mm to 8.4mm – all while fitting full-fat mobile processors.

As for how this was done, the capacitive Windows button said goodbye, thus the extra room for that three tenths of an inch in the display.

Then, Microsoft brought the screen's optical stack – the series of sensors, diodes and pixels beneath the glass – even closer to the glass now, a key point of Microsoft's trademarked PixelSense screen technology.

The display is thus incredibly responsive to touch, and the further sensitivity it brings to the stylus experience is huge. In tandem with the improved Surface Pen, the screen detects 1,024 levels of pressure, even during a single stroke.

Now, let's talk resolution. Even though it didn't have to, Microsoft increased the Surface Pro 4's resolution from 2,160 x 1,440 (216 ppi, or pixels per inch) to 2,736 x 1,824. That makes for a huge 267 ppi for the Surface Pro 4, which blows a key rival, the MacBook Air (128 ppi for the 13-inch), out of the water and just barely beating out out Apple's 12.9-inch iPad Pro at 264 ppi.

More importantly, the new screen proves to be way more luminous and more color accurate than the Surface Pro 3 display at all brightness levels. This is obviously going to be a pretty big deal for any designers or artists that are looking to upgrade from the Wacom tablet and calibrated monitor combo.

For the rest of us, this means more realistic-looking movies and more vibrant photos and games. That's despite even thicker black bars sandwiching your favorite films in 16:9 – and even more so for those in 21:9, or widescreen format, thanks to the 3:2 aspect ratio that remains from last generation.

It's a fair concern for folks that watch plenty of movies and TV on a tablet. But fear not, workers, for you're the very reason Microsoft made this decision. The 3:2 aspect ratio is a middle ground between 16:9 and 4:3 that is ideal for both photo and design or drafting work, wherein 3:2 is much more common, as well as getting computational work done, given the extra vertical space.

Surface Pen and Type Cover

In addition to the aforementioned 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, the new-and-included Surface Pen is redesigned to feel more like a pencil. The stylus now has one flat side, as if a Number 2 pencil had all but two of its angles rounded off.

This version is even more comfortable to hold than the last as a result – your index finger rests just above the main function button on the flat end. Secondly, the left side of the frame is coated with thin, powerful strip magnets that allow it to cling onto the tablet's left side. The age of stylus loops is over.

The Pen also sports a new, functional eraser button up top that does what it says on the tin, but has three more functions. In addition to opening OneNote with a single press, the button now takes a screenshot and then opens OneNote with a double press. Finally, a long press summons Cortana to help you out.

Microsoft seems to have expertly weighted the Surface Pen to make it feel not much heavier than your average clickable pen, despite all of the tech inside. Plus, now Microsoft offers additional pen tips right out of the box.

Coupled with Microsoft's PixelSense display, the duo makes for the best stylus experience we've had on a tablet yet for as little as we're wont to use it. While we're neither artists nor designers, the screen's superb palm detection and the accuracy and nuance of the Pen tracking give us confidence that the Surface Pro 4 is Microsoft's best shot at luring in that crowd yet.

These improvements pale in comparison with Microsoft's new-and-still-not-included Type Cover. This time around, Microsoft took a chiclet-style approach. This makes keeping track of which keys your fingers are on by feel much easier, and it allows for each key to be individually back lit.

The new Type Cover is also thicker and far more rigid than before, allowing for deeper key travel and punchier feedback – not to mention a sturdier, quieter surface to type on – that brings it so much closer to a true laptop keyboard. Microsoft also widened the touchpad and coated it in glass rather than plastic.

Finally, Microsoft has a version of the Type Cover with a biometric Fingerprint ID for $159 (£149, AU$249). The new keyboard cover is only available in black and uses Windows Hello to login to the Surface with a fingertip press. The scanner can also authorise app purchases from the Windows Store, and because the keyboard is backwards compatible, it can be used with the Surface Pro 3 too.

Performance

Every performance score here, save for PCMark 8 Home, shows a minor increase from the first unit I tested. It's a good sign that the Surface Pro 4 was already operating at its peak, and that only the battery needed fixing.

The Surface Pro 4 bested the 2015 HP Spectre x360 in almost every test by roughly 25%. As for the 13-inch MacBook Air, its multi-core Geekbench 3 (which tests CPUs primarily) score is plenty short of what the Surface achieved.

Ultimately, don't expect to see a major difference between how any of these three machines perform day-to-day, though the MacBook Air will last way longer on a charge. If anything, you might get slightly better frame rates out of games played on the Surface Pro 4 than that 2015 Spectre x360.

If you're curious, the Pro 4 runs Hearthstone (our go-to tablet testing game) without a hitch on its highest settings, even at an automatically-adapted resolution. Plus, the color-calibrated display makes every element on the game's interactive play boards that much more distracting.

Battery life

Tested on pre-production hardware that we were promised has been scrubbed of its battery woes, the Surface Pro 4 produced far better battery life results than at the onset. Unfortunately, they're still well below not only Microsoft's own claims, but what choice rivals are able to put up.

While arguably the most harsh battery test in our lineup, PCMark 8 Home Battery saw the Pro 4 last 3 hours and 15 minutes, a marked 50% increase from before. Still, the Spectre x360 held out in that test for 4 hours and 38 minutes.

Microsoft's tablet fared much better on our video playback test, lasting 5 hours and 15 minutes. That's enough to last you on most coast-to-coast US flights.

In a similar test, the MacBook Air was able to stream 1080p video over Wi-Fi for a whopping 13 hours and 24 minutes. Though, that's thanks to a far lower-resolution display and likely a larger battery.

Regardless, Microsoft promises up to 9 hours of video playback, and these numbers aren't close. Sure, these figures are far better than last year's Surface Pro 3, despite the serious screen resolution bump, which should not be overlooked. But, they still can't hold a candle to neither Apple's leading laptop nor its top tablet – much less comparable Windows hybrids.

Longevity is then about the only thing holding the Surface Pro 4 back from truly, honestly replacing your laptop – or at least your MacBook Air specifically. Otherwise, the machine offers somewhat below-average lasting power.

Not convinced? Try these:

Samsung Galaxy Book: With an incredible display, long battery life and all of the essential accessories in the box, this tablet all but requires you to make liberal use of Samsung’s phone-exclusive syncing and biometric login features via Samsung Flow, its key selling points. Just mind the lack of Windows Hello.

Lenovo Miix 510: A great price, USB-C and USB 3.0, and an included keyboard cover make the Miix 510 an appealing option. While there are a couple of reasons (battery, screen) why you’d go for the Surface Pro 4 instead, but the Miix 510 offers an awful lot for the price. But, again, what's counting against it is considerable.

HP Spectre x2: Its unique kickstand, even sharper IPS screen and hardier included keyboard cover help the Spectre x2 stand out. You'll stay for the impressive spec sheet and premium. That said, it's too bad that the stylus doesn't come included with this device, unlike its rivals. This is likely the biggest rival to the Surface line today.

First reviewed: October 2015

Kane Fulton and Gabe Carey have also contributed to this review

]]>Microsoft Surface Studiohttp://www.techradar.com/reviews/surface-studio
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/surface-studioThe Surface Studio is, without a doubt, one of the finest premium computing devices ever produced – but you probably don’t need it.Thu, 07 Dec 2017 21:17:00 +0000techradar.comWhen Microsoft decided to get back into making its own computing hardware starting with the original Surface RT five years ago, things were admittedly off to a rocky start. With the controversial Windows 8 at the helm of the company’s infrastructure, there was a lot of tweaking to be done, and so it wasn’t until 2016 that we saw the arrival of Microsoft’s first desktop PC, namely the Surface Studio.

Going head-to-head with the all-in-one computers devised by frankly bigger names in hardware such as HP and Dell, Microsoft’s Surface Studio might have been intended to finally pose a challenge to the trendsetting Apple iMac. But, while it fails to accomplish that from a price point perspective, it’s technologically superior in virtually every way. Just one look at its 28-inch touchscreen, and you’ll be drooling.

However, that’s not where the fascination ends for us. Au contraire, the Surface Studio is big, but it’s also flexible. Because it boasts what Microsoft calls a ‘Zero-Gravity Hinge,’ the Surface Studio can easily switch between a standard desktop mode and an unparalleled tabletop design environment that rivals even some of the better drafting tables around. Despite the fact that it still clings to parts from over two years ago, the Surface Studio is worth your mindshare.

Pricing and availability

Microsoft’s Surface devices are usually aimed to be premium, but the Surface Studio is on another level with a starting price of $2,999 or AU$4,699 (about £2,390). Every version of this AIO comes with a 28-inch (4,500 x 3,000) display. But, at this level, you’ll be getting an Intel Core i5 processor with 8GB of RAM, 1TB hard drive (with an integrated 64GB SSD) and an Nvidia GTX 965 (2GB GDDR5 VRAM) graphics.

Ratcheting up to $3,499 or AU$5,499 (about £2,790) takes you to the next SKU, doubling the memory and upgrading it to the same Intel Core i7 CPU as our review configuration.

Finally, our own review configuration costs an astronomical $4,199 or AU$6,599 (about £3,350) for another two times increase in RAM and a much larger 2TB HDD (with an integrated 128GB SSD). Graphics also gets a significant upgrade with the Nvidia GTX 980M (4GB GDDR5 VRAM).

To say the least, this is a very pricy desktop indeed. Even if you were to max out the configuration of aDell XPS 27 AIO, it wouldn’t even come close at $3,299 or £2,999 (about AU$4,320). However, a top of the line iMac with 5K Retina Display priced at $3,999 (£3,779, AU$6,319) doesn’t seem like much of a bargain considering the stronger specs on Microsoft’s desktop offering.

Design

From the moment we pulled the Surface Studio out of its box, we knew we were in love.

There isn’t any shortage of impressive desktops what with Apple’s ever-thinning iMacs to the six-speaker sound on Dell’s XPS 27 AIO. However, nothing beats the simplicity and elegance of the Surface Studio.

By moving all the components to the basement, so to speak, the display is just a touchscreen with remarkably thin bezels. Without that rear bump, the profile of the screen is a mere 12.5mm, making it slimmer than virtually any dedicated monitor.

There’s also no fat chin underneath the screen to flaunt a Windows logo – actually, it’s refreshing to see no branding anywhere except for a mirrored logo on the back.

The Surface Studio is a modern and minimalistic desktop designed with straight edges and a simple gray on chrome aesthetic. The base of the desktop takes this one step farther by simply being a nearly featureless, ashen box. The noticeable element is a subtle line that wraps around the perimeter of the Studio’s foundation to provide cooling for the mobile computing parts contained within.

Microsoft arguably takes this clean aesthetic a bit too far, as all the USB 3.0 ports as well as the memory card reader are located on the rear. The lack of USB-C and ThunderBolt also means you won’t be able to take advantage of the fastest external drives.

Although we’ve already said our piece on theSurface Keyboard andSurface Mouse separately, we absolutely adored the completely wireless and clutter free setup when paired with the Surface Studio. The two come included along with a Surface Pen in the box.

Back to the digital drawing board

Although 4,500 x 3,000 pixels isn’t the sharpest resolution in the world, it is sharper than a 4K display without being overzealous. This combination of screen resolution and size with the Studio’s 3:2 aspect also means you can snap four separate programs to each corner and still have a legible view of each app. Frankly, the size and resolution feel just right.

Microsoft’s nearly perfect sense of color gamut and contrast carries over to its latest PixelSense display. Additionally, there are more color profiles to choose from, including sRGB, Vivid, and DCI-P3 to make it a truly production-grade display.

Holding up this glorious display is the Surface Studio’s other winning feature, the Zero Gravity Hinge. This catchy-named mechanism absorbs all the torque required to move the 13-pound display, making it easy to switch from a standard all-in-one PC to a digital drawing surface.

When lowered, the Studio’s touchscreen display holds itself at the same angle of pitch as a standard drafting table. Of course, you can also adjust the display at different levels of tilt and without worrying about it moving under the weight of your hands as you work.

As with theSurface Pro 4 andSurface Book, drawing and writing on the Studio feel like it’s almost too good to be true. Surface Pen strokes translate perfectly into lines of digital ink. Unlike other styluses that feel like they’re gliding on glass or cutting themselves into the touchscreen, Microsoft has refined its hardware so that it offers just the right amount of resistance.

Dialing it in

Aside from the Surface Pen experience we’ve all come to know and love, the introduction of this desktop also came with a new Surface Dial. This curious, mini-puck-shaped accessory is actually a Bluetooth-connected module you can use to change settings on the Studio and in specific Windows apps.

It’s intuitive and, within minutes of picking it up, you’ll realize it both spins and acts as a physical button. Pushing in the dial brings up a radial menu of options like volume and screen brightness controls as well as zooming and scrolling. Hit it again and you can get to tweaking whichever option you’ve selected.

But that’s just the surface (sorry) of what this dial can do. In most apps, you can use the dial as a zoom slider, but for drawing and painting apps, you can more easily switch between tools, change brush sizes and undo your last stroke with a simple twist.

It might sound functionally simple, but having that quick access to physical controls without having to stop drawing is huge if you want to stay absorbed in your process. Of course, this also means only digital artists and other creative professionals are going to get the most out of this accessory.

One other small gripe we have with the Surface Dial is it doesn’t stay in place when you have it on the Studio’s screen. Instead, it slowly slides down the touchscreen – even if it’s lowered all the way.

Unfortunately, that’s really the extent of everything the dial does for now. Both FreshPaint and PaintSketch can’t switch between colors with the Surface Dial, and they’re the poster children for Microsoft’s digital art programs. There’s also virtually no integration with Adobe’s suite for media production apps, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom and Premiere.

Microsoft has told us support is coming soon and it is working hard with Adobe to make things happen just as their partnership led to Photoshop getting a touch-based interface.

After installing the Creators Update preview (officially availablestarting April 5th), we were able to squeeze a bit more functionality out of the Surface Dial. The latest version ofWindows 10 adds customizable Dial controls and Paint3D as another app for the artistically adept.

Beyond that, though, we have yet to discover more uses for the Surface Dial. For now, we’d say there’s a lot of potential for the Surface Dial, but you would be better off saving your $99 (£149, AU$149) than buying this extra peripheral.

Performance

You might balk at the graphics chip from last year and the less-than-current Skylake processor on its spec sheet, but the Surface Studio keeps up with other all-in-one machines.

Thanks to its high-end GPU, this desktop pulls well ahead of the XPS 27 AIO and iMac with 5K Retina screen with a Fire Strike score that’s nearly four times higher. Unfortunately, the Studio’s processing power doesn’t prove to be impressive, and its more CPU-intensive benchmark scores lag behind.

Benchmarks aside, this desktop knows how to put in work. Microsoft’s AIO never buckled, even as we loaded up dozens of tabs on two web browsers, a separate Google Music streaming app, Slack, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator all at the same time. Even Lightroom, which usually grinds gaming laptops to a halt, ran smoothly on the Studio as we processed images for this review.

We also played a fair number of Overwatch matches at the Surface Studio’s full-screen resolution with Ultra settings without issue. During our entire time with the device, we didn't encounter any graphical performance issues that would have required the latest Nvidia graphics.

The most impressive thing about the Surface Studio’s performance is how quickly everything loaded on it. Rather than being equipped with a traditional SSD or hard drive, Microsoft used Intel’s Rapid Storage Technology to intrinsically tie a 2TB spinning drive to 128GB of flash memory.

In this setup, the hard drive does all the heavy lifting of storing all your files, meanwhile, a smaller segment of your data is compartmentalized onto the SSD if it has been associated with a commonly used program or service. Although this system doesn’t allow you to directly access the faster storage solution, we never felt like we had too as files loaded seamlessly and quickly the whole time.

Final verdict

There’s no doubt the Surface Studio is impressive or that you’ll probably love it at first sight as well. However, that eye-watering price is something to be heavily considered before you make the dive.

If you’re just looking for an all-in-one PC for your everyday computing or office work, you’ll be much better served by an iMac, Dell XPS 17 AIO orHP Envy 27 AIO. Videographers and photographers would arguably be better served by a similar system with higher-end specs, a dedicated desktop or building their own PC (or two) for the price of a standard Surface Studio.

However, for artists and especially illustrators the Surface Studio introduces a new wrinkle into a world primarily dominated by Wacom tablets. Not only does the Surface Studio allow you to sketch and inspect your picture with one device, the visual quality of the PixelSense display is far greater than that of Wacom’s Cintiq display orDell’s new 27-inch Canvas.

For those reasons, we’ll reiterate that the Surface Studio would best serve artists and illustrators. It’s without a doubt one of the finest premium computing devices ever produced, but there’s no reason regular users should purchase this unless they’re in the market for the highest-end iMac and want more options...or bragging rights.

First reviewed April 2017

Gabe Carey has also contributed to this review

]]>MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (13-inch, Mid-2017)http://www.techradar.com/reviews/macbook-pro
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/macbook-proIf you were hoping for refinement out of 2017’s MacBook Pro refresh, then you’re in luck – just don’t expect a revolution.Wed, 06 Dec 2017 21:42:00 +0000techradar.comAmong all the price drops and discounts we’ve seen in recent months, interestingly enough, there hasn’t been much in the way of substantial changes to the MacBook Pro or its accompanying operating system, macOS 10.13 High Sierra. What we have seen are security updates and a horde of new emoji shared with iOS.

That being the case, the latest 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is anything but revolutionary. Instead, it offers a handful of subtle niceties that should have been present in last year’s model but, for some reason or another, didn’t make the cut. In other words, it may not be the best MacBook Pro for everyone, but it is the best 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar you can buy.

The issues we took with last year’s refresh are mostly still present, with the exception of the high price, a factor that’s been somewhat mitigated on the entry-level side of the spectrum. The only ports it has are still USB Type-C (Thunderbolt 3) and a headphone jack, and although iPhone users are likely envious, Mac power users expect more from their computers. After all, until 2016, every MacBook Pro had video-out, absent the need for adapters.

Nevertheless, we have to give Apple the benefit of the doubt to an extent, as there were only so many improvements that could be made in the seven-month span between releases. Knowing full well that your purchase of a 2017 MacBook Pro will net you a slightly more powerful version of last year’s model, read on to find out our consensus of how this fares for the Cupertino tech giant.

Price and availability

Although you can snatch one for yourself at $1,299 (£1,249, AU$1,899), that MacBook Pro configuration lacks a key element: the OLED Touch Bar that replaces the function keys on higher tier models. If the Touch Bar, along with Touch ID verification, is on your must-have features list, you can expect to shell out no less than $1,799 (£1,749, AU$2,699).

Now, while you could simply fetch more storage than the base configuration for $200/£200/$300, the unit we reviewed is a supercharged beast. That’s due in part to the fact that it sports four Thunderbolt 3 ports, double that of the non-Touch Bar models, all of which can be used to charge the device. Moreover, the processor speed has been bumped from 2.3GHz to 3.1Ghz as well.

For $100 less in the United States, however, you can get a Dell XPS 13 with double the RAM and storage of the $1,799 MacBook Pro we’ve reviewed here and with a more capable Intel Core i7 CPU at that – not to mention a sharper 3,100 x 1,800 touchscreen as well as both Thunderbolt 3 and an SD card reader.

Similarly, the Surface Laptop, which can be configured with a stronger Core i7 CPU and equally capacious storage and RAM for a full 200 clams less, albeit with a slightly lower-resolution 2,256 x 1,504 touchscreen and only two legacy ports.

These comparisons make it abundantly clear that you’re buying a MacBook Pro these days neither for the power nor the price, but the platform and pedigree. Regardless, these comparisons only grow more difficult to draw for Apple’s leading laptop these days.

Design

Luckily, Apple’s pedigree does wonders for maintaining the MacBook Pro’s shining reputation as an absolutely beautiful and sensible computing device. That said, not much – if anything – has changed about the MacBook Pro design year over year, and that’s A-OK.

Still available in Apple’s standard space gray or silver colors (no rose gold yet), the MacBook Pro’s unibody aluminum shell is as gorgeous as ever, giving off a subdued shine through the anodization.

In terms of form factor, Apple maintains its achievement of cramming a 13-inch screen into an 11-inch frame a la the Dell XPS 13, but this laptop’s bezels are still a bit larger. Speaking of screens, Apple’s Retina display is as sharp and color-rich as ever, even more so with its new, professional-grade P3 color gamut.

However, it’s far from the sharpest out there, even among its strongest rivals, making its “Retina” claims tougher than ever to swallow. For instance, the XPS 13 can be configured with a 3,200 x 1,800 QHD touchscreen, easily outclassing the MacBook Pro in terms of pure sharpness.

This is a hugely important point for creative professionals working with media files that are high-resolution or require such a resolution to resolve minute details upon zooming in on a media file.

At any rate, the MacBook Pro is uniformly thinner than the XPS 13 by a hair, which starts from 0.6 inches and tapers off at 0.33 inches. The Surface Laptop, meanwhile, is marginally thinner than both at just 0.57 inches.

This is the thinnest and lightest MacBook Pro yet, and for that it feels right at home in our backpack – that is, assuming we don’t forget it’s even there. (Trust us, it has happened during this review, and it was horrifying.)

That Apple managed to craft a laptop this thin and still maintain top-firing stereo speakers, with deep and rich sound no less, should be commended when most other laptop makers just go for down-firing speakers. Instead, where speakers would normally go on an Ultrabook, Apple has placed intake fans that draw cool air in and spit it out the back just beneath the hinge.

Sure, the laptop heats up still right around that area, but said heat is far away from the more sensitive parts of your lap and far less dramatic than with previous models.

As for how Apple managed to make the MacBook Pro this thin, a key culprit is the laptop’s new keyboard with Apple’s 2nd generation butterfly mechanism, introduced in last year’s model. The improved actuation device doesn’t make the keys sit any more flush with the keyboard deck than they already were last year, but rather vastly improves the tactile feel of typing.

Feedback is much more forceful this time around, though the key travel doesn’t feel as if it’s changed much, which is the point ultimately. The keys are large enough so as not to miss given the lack of travel, though we’re not fans of the Escape key being relegated to the Touch Bar – something we’ve accidentally pressed more than once – and the tight positioning of the up and down arrow keys.

Also, we find typing on this keyboard to be louder than on Apple’s older MacBook keyboards, but perhaps that’s due to adjusting to the learning curve.

A mixed takeaway from the keyboard aside, the new-and-enlarged Force Touch trackpad was a welcome improvement last year and we’re just as happy to have it this time around. Its large size and strong palm rejection help immensely with multi-touch gestures and, more importantly, navigating the operating system the easier way, i.e. with your index finger moving the cursor and your thumb clicking the buttons.

Speaking of which, Force Touch returns to the trackpad, naturally, and it’s frankly remarkable. The vibration motors beneath the glass tracking surface vibrate so as to recreate the feeling of a mouse click, and, if Apple didn’t make such a stink about, it we’d be none the wiser. This is Apple’s “it just works” philosophy realized once again.

Touch Bar and Touch ID

While many have been quick to dismiss the Touch Bar since its introduction in last year’s MacBook Pro model, we’ve come down on it with a bit more understanding. You see, while we admittedly didn’t naturally come to use the Touch Bar much at all during the course of this review, its presence and potential are nevertheless noted.

While still relegated to supporting core macOS functions and a few, major third party apps (like Adobe Suite), the Touch Bar is incredibly fast at adapting to the task at hand. The strongest example of this is simply the Touch Bar’s built-in spell checker, which is constantly suggesting words no matter how fast of a typist you are.

It’s almost like having the iPhone’s autocorrect function on your MacBook.

We’ve seen tech like this attempted before, but in no way this robust and quick. The OLED touch display is incredibly responsive, and its matte coating does well to shrug off glare from strong light sources – just don’t expect much in direct sunlight. All said, we’re impressed by the technological achievement that the Touch Bar is, but still believe it requires wider third party support to become a must-have feature.

Though, having Siri as a button for easy, constant access is a major plus, given the wide control it has over macOS in comparison to other digital assistants.

The second piece of the Touch Bar offering is, of course, Touch ID. While this is the second go around for the technology, we’re nevertheless happy that biometric login is finally available on an Apple laptop. The tool works just like it does on iPhone, and it’s just as quick.

That said, we’ve found Windows 10’s iris-scanning Windows Hello tech to be faster and require nearly zero effort. (To achieve this level of immediacy with a Mac, you’d need an Apple Watch with the Auto Unlock feature activated.) Regardless, being able to securely log into the laptop, and pay for things through Safari via Apple Pay, are both features we’d be clamoring for if they weren’t there.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the latest MacBook Pro is awfully powerful. With the latest Intel processors inside and some of fastest flash storage available in a laptop, we wouldn’t expect anything less.

During our time with the device, not once have we hit any sort of lock-up, stuttering or freezing. We’ve yet to bear witness to the so-called “beach ball of death” either.

Granted, this is during our normal workload of 10-plus Google Chrome browser tabs as well as the Slack chat app – both of which are known for their considerable demands on system resources. We also find work in Photoshop to be silky smooth, too.

It should also come as no surprise that this MacBook won’t compare well on paper to rivals we’ve reviewed, as the XPS 13 we’ve tested has a stronger processor inside. In the case of the Surface Laptop, straight performance comparisons are even harder to make, given we couldn’t run any of our standard benchmarks on it short of our battery test.

Regardless, expect a similar level of performance between the three devices, given that they all make use of the latest Intel processors and super speedy SSDs. Not to mention that this MacBook Pro houses RAM clocked at 2,133MHz to its rivals’ 1,866MHz, helping shore up some differences.

Also, don’t worry about that Touch Bar and Touch ID module hogging any system resources, as both are powered by an ARM-based T1 coprocessor – the very same found in Apple’s own Series 2 Apple Watch. This keeps 100% of the Intel chip’s power devoted to core computing.

Battery life

However, we can’t say the Touch Bar – and the coprocessor beneath it – doesn’t impact battery life. This MacBook Pro lasted for 6 hours and 37 minutes through our in-house battery test, looping 1080p video at 50% brightness and volume – with all backlighting and radios (but Wi-Fi) disabled – until it dies.

That’s nearly an hour short of how long last year’s 13-inch MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar ran on the very same test: 7 hours and 24 minutes. (Not mention well short of both the XPS 13 and Surface Laptop.) Plus, last year’s model was actually conducted at 75% screen brightness.

Between that fact and that the Kaby Lake Intel Core processor inside this year’s laptop is generally believed to be more power efficient, we’re left wondering why the two results aren’t at least closer. Both of these points are rather strong tells that the Touch Bar’s nearly always-on display and its coprocessor have a measurable impact on battery life.

This is before even mentioning that the Touch Bar seems takes up a bit of space beneath the hood that would normally be occupied by battery cells. While we haven’t gotten inside the thing, why else would the model sans Touch Bar house a 54.5-watt-hour battery whereas the model with the Touch Bar included packs a smaller, 49.2Wh power pack?

Surely, you’d want more battery to power two screens and two processors if you could manage it.

Regardless, the newest MacBook Pro is still going to last you on most US flights and perhaps even flights across the Atlantic into western Europe. That should be also good enough to get most through a work day – either way, it’s still short of Apple’s 10-hour claim.

We liked

Getting a hold of a brand new MacBook Pro never gets old. There’s a reason why countless vendors have ripped Apple’s designs over the years: because they’re that good. The Force Touch trackpad should be lauded as an engineering marvel, while the newer keyboard is surprisingly easy to use and vastly improved over the first go at the butterfly hinge. Finally, Touch ID on a MacBook Pro works nearly as fast as it does on an iPhone, and it’s a no-brainer feature at this point.

We disliked

Our most chief concern with the MacBook Pro is what it offers for the price in comparison to rivals running Windows 10. It’s almost painfully easy to configure a more powerful, longer-lasting and more pixel-dense Windows laptop at online checkout for the same price or even less. Also, despite its merit as another engineering feat, we find the Touch Bar lacking in convenience and necessity for the hit that battery life takes to accommodate the extra hardware.

Final verdict

When it comes to Apple products, especially laptops, there are some whom will never be swayed one way or the other. Either they’re vehemently for or against the MacBook, and will defend either position by any means necessary, whether that be with their money or yet another Mac vs PC Reddit thread.

However, for the scant few of you that might be on the fence (whether you’re coming from a Windows laptop or debating whether to upgrade your MacBook Pro), consider what you’re getting for the price in comparison to rivals. But, also consider the inimitable features that a MacBook Pro affords, like deeper iPhone integration than you can get anywhere else and some of the best keyboards and trackpads we’ve tested, to name a few.

The new MacBook Pro is a marked improvement over the previous generation, upping the processing power and RAM speed as well as improving the keyboard among other features. However, Apple sticking to its guns on things like Thunderbolt 3 ditching the SD card slot and display resolution only stand to hurt it in straight comparisons.

All told, the newest MacBook Pro will not disappoint both incumbent fans and those jumping the fence – just apply due diligence before clicking the ‘buy’ button.

]]>Lenovo Yoga 920 reviewhttp://www.techradar.com/reviews/lenovo-yoga-920-review
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/lenovo-yoga-920-review2017 has been a year of fantastic 2-in-1 laptop designs, and the Lenovo Yoga 920 is another success.Wed, 06 Dec 2017 12:50:04 +0000techradar.comIn a year in which we’ve seen a number of remarkable 2-in-1 laptops, Lenovo has saved possibly the best until last with the Yoga 920, its follow-up to the fantastic Yoga 910.

The Lenovo Yoga 920 features USB-C ports, an improved webcam location, a better keyboard and boosted battery life, while retaining the 360-degree hinge that's a hallmark of the Yoga range.

However, 2017 has been an exemplary year for convertible laptops, with devices such as the recently-released Microsoft Surface Book 2 really pushing the boundaries of what we should expect from the form factor.

That means the Yoga 920 has its work cut out if it's to really stand out from the crowd. Can it succeed? Read on to find out.

Price and availability

As with other 2-in-1 devices, the Lenovo Yoga 920 comes in different configurations, though thankfully Lenovo hasn't gone overboard by offering a confusing array of options.

The base model comes with an Intel Core i5-8250U processor, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, a 13.9-inch 1080p touchscreen and an Active Pen stylus, and costs $1,199.99 / £1,199.99. This model is available in the US and UK.

A second model comes with the same spec as above, but features a faster Intel Core i7-855OU processor and larger 512GB SDD. This costs $1,549.99 / £1,349.99 and again is available in the UK and the US. From these prices you can see that in the UK, the higher-specced Yoga 920 offers much better value for money.

Finally, there’s a version that features an Intel Core i7-855OU processor, 16GB RAM, up to 1TB of storage and a UHD (3840 x 2160) screen. This model is only available in the US and Australia, and costs $1,999.99 / AU$1,999.

Australian readers may be a bit miffed about missing out on the lower-specced versions, but at least the price conversion compared to US$ works out very well. Meanwhile, if you’re in the UK you won’t have the option of that 4K screen.

While these are quite hefty sums to be parting with, they are around the price we normally see high-end and premium laptops and ultrabooks sell for, and they're still a fair bit cheaper than the Surface Book 2 (13.5-inch), the smaller version of Microsoft’s 2-in-1, which is comparable to the Yoga 910 in terms of size and power.

Prices for that device start at $1,499 (£1,499, around AU$2,600) for which you get a 7th-generation Intel Core i5 CPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB and an integrated GPU. The prices then rise to a pretty steep $2,999 (£2,999, around AU$5,200) for the top-of-the-range model, which comes with an 8th-gen Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD and a GTX 1050 graphics card.

That’s quite a difference in price, though it is worth noting that none of the Lenovo 920 configurations come with a dedicated graphics card. Instead they come with less powerful integrated cards which can handle most tasks absolutely fine, but will suffer when it comes to gaming and video-editing.

Overall, though, we feel the prices are pretty good for the various Yoga 920 configurations, and while they're certainly not cheap, these aren't ludicrous asking prices for the quality of device you’re getting.

Design

When you’re paying a premium price you want a device that looks – and feels – premium as well, and Lenovo has done an excellent job of that with the Yoga 920. It has a thin yet sturdy feel to it, weighing 3.0 pounds (1.37kg) and measuring just 12.7 x 8.8 x 0.5 inches (323 x 223.5 x 13.95mm).

This means it has a nice heft, without feeling heavy or bulky. It also has a metallic finish which adds to the premium feel, although after only a few hours of use the metal became a veritable haven for fingerprints, so you may want to keep a small cloth handy to keep it smudge-free.

It’s a small price to pay, however, for such a good-looking 2-in-1. The hinges along the back of the Yoga 920 are also eye-catching – we’ve fluctuated between thinking they're stylish and finding them a bit gaudy. There’s no doubting the strength and build quality of the hinge though, which is essential for a convertible laptop as that hinge is likely to see a lot of action as you flip the screen orientation, so you don’t want it to be a point of failure.

Like the hinge on the Surface Book 2, it’s strong enough to angle the screen without the body tipping up, while the screen remains held in place. Unlike the Surface Book 2, however, the design of this hinge doesn’t stick out quite as much, and, of course, it can flip the screen a full 180 degrees.

2-in-1 convertibles that flip their screens to turn into a tablet-like device struggle to provide quite as good a tablet experience as 2-in-1s on which the screen detaches from the keyboard, as you’re still left with a slightly bulky device with a back that feels like a keyboard (because it is one).

Lenovo has managed to address at least one of these points thanks to the thinness of the design – even with the screen flipped all the way back this is still a thin device, though not quite as slim as standard tablets. That keyboard back remains, and while it doesn’t feel that nice (compared to the smooth, flat back of a normal tablet), it's at least clever enough to turn off the buttons, so they don’t interfere when in tablet mode.

Because of this we’d recommend the Yoga 920 as a laptop that can occasionally turn into a tablet, rather than vice versa. If you’re looking for something that you’ll use mostly as a tablet, but want it to also turn into a laptop-like device for typing on, we’d recommend something like the Surface Book 2, or perhaps a tablet that comes with a physical Bluetooth keyboard.

The bezel around the screen is impressively thin, and the webcam is now back at the top of the screen, in a central location. On the Yoga 910 the webcam was housed in the bottom bezel, which led to some unflattering shots, and in general people weren’t too happy with that placement. With the camera returning to the top of the screen videos look much more natural when using VoIP software – and thankfully, putting the webcam back there hasn't required making the top bezel any larger.

Given the thinness of the design, it’s probably no surprise that ports-wise there aren't a huge number of connectivity options. On the left-hand side there’s a headphone/mic jack and two USB-C ports (one of which is also used as the power supply), and on the right is a full-size USB 3.0 port. This isn’t the most generous offering, but it’s more than the MacBook’s single USB-C port.

To be honest, we didn't find the number of ports restrictive, and it’s a reasonable trade-off for the svelte design. If you have a number of USB devices that you want to attach you’ll need an adapter, though the Yoga 920 also has built-in Bluetooth support.

The fact that it still features one full-size USB port means there’s some flexibility here for using legacy devices, as well as memory sticks.

Stylus pros and cons

One thing we complained about with the Surface Book 2 devices was that despite their high prices the Surface Pen stylus wasn't included, necessitating an extra outlay on top of an already expensive purchase.

Thankfully Lenovo hasn't followed suit, and has included its Active Pen stylus as part of the package. This battery-powered stylus has a nice design, and the Yoga 920 responds well to it thanks to its screen being able to detect 4,096 levels of pressure. Light presses and hard presses were registered accurately in the art apps we tried, and the 920 kept up with even the most frantic scribbles.

Unlike the Surface Pen, which has a nifty feature where you can use the other end of the stylus as an eraser, you need to hold down one (of two) buttons on the stylus to engage erase mode. Overall, though, we were pleased with the Active Pen, and we’re very pleased that Lenovo saw fit to include it with the Yoga 920 as standard.

However, it's not all good news. Lenovo had to find a way to easily store the stylus within such a slim design. Microsoft’s solution with the Surface Pen and its Surface devices is to magnetically attach the stylus to the body of the main device; it's a nice feature that’s handy, though not completely secure, and it helps to give those devices a premium feel.

However, for the Yoga 920 Lenovo has decided on a plastic holder that slots into the full-size USB port and holds the stylus there. This ends up feeling a bit cheap and tacky, and it also means you’re losing access to a USB port while you're using it. It’s a shame, as so many other elements of the Yoga 920's design feel premium, and this just feels like a fudge.

During our time using the Yoga 920 – primarily as a laptop, but also occasionally as a tablet – we were very impressed with its performance. The unit we used was the version with a Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 1080p display.

Windows 10 ran smoothly with no issues, and thankfully Lenovo has kept bloatware (as in unwanted pre-installed applications) to a minimum. Day-to-day tasks were usually processed quickly, although we did notice that it took our configuration of the Yoga 920 quite a long time to extract a large compressed .zip file, which also caused its fans to kick in.

Most of the time these fans stayed silent, but for more demanding tasks they did kick in, making the 920 louder than the fanless design of the Surface Book 2 13.5-inch.

We used the Yoga 920 for a lot of web browsing, with multiple tabs open, and it performed well. The keyboard was large enough to type comfortably on, and despite the keys being fairly shallow they had satisfying travel.

The touchscreen was fast and responsive, when using either fingers or the stylus, and even though we tested the 1080p version, rather than the UHD version, the screen still looked fantastic, with crisp and bright visuals. In fact, we’d say a 4K screen on a 13-inch screen like this is overkill, especially given the size of the screen.

Image quality was also fantastic on the screen, with bright and vivid pictures and deep blacks offering an enjoyable viewing experience when watching movies. The sound quality, powered by Dolby Audio Premium, is also very impressive. Despite its small size, the Yoga 920 does a great job of pumping out sounds at a decent volume – and the audio quality doesn’t suffer from sounding weak or tinny.

That can be an annoyance on smaller devices, but the Yoga 920 really did impress us. Combined with such a lovely screen, the sound quality makes the Yoga 920 an excellent device for watching media on.

As you can see from our benchmark scores, the integrated graphics of the Lenovo Yoga 920 don’t have enough power to drive modern graphically-demanding games, but it can still handle older games – and pretty much any title on our list of the best games for laptops. For any graphically-strenuous tasks, however, you may not want to settle for the Yoga 920.

Battery life

Lenovo claims a battery life of 12 hours for the Yoga 920, and while it didn't quite reach that target in our testing it didn’t fall far short. In our movie test (where we played a looped 1080p movie with the screen at maximum brightness) the Yoga 920 hit 9 hours and 23 minutes before it needed a charge. That’s very impressive, and it means you could easily use the Yoga 920 to watch movies on a long journey; and with a tweak to the brightness settings, of course, the device could last a bit longer.

Of course, playing movies (and from a hard drive, not streamed) isn’t an especially demanding task, so there’s not as much impact on battery life. However, we also ran the PCMark 8 Battery Life benchmark, which simulates medium to high usage, such as browsing the internet, creating word documents and making video calls.

Here, battery life dropped to just over four hours. That’s almost two hours less than the Surface Book 2 13.5-inch – though the Surface Book 2 is both more expensive, and actually contains two batteries (one in the body, the other in the detachable screen).

While heavy-duty work may drain the battery pretty fast, the good news is that charging the Yoga 920 via USB-C is also very fast – we reached 92% in around an hour and a half. Another nice touch is that the other USB ports are always on, so with the Yoga 920 plugged in you can shut down the laptop but still use its spare USB ports to charge your other devices.

We liked

The Lenovo Yoga 920 is a beautifully-designed 2-in-1 laptop that’s thin, light and feels wonderful to hold. The 360-degree hinges feel solid, and in tablet mode the Yoga 920 feels a lot slimmer and lighter than many of its competitors. We’re also glad to see the webcam return to the more traditional spot at the top of the screen, while movies look and sound great on this device.

We didn’t like

We’re still not entirely sold on the keyboard on the back when the screen is flipped into tablet mode – 2-in-1 machines with detachable keyboards still feel a lot better, though they come with their own compromises.

The plastic holder for the stylus also feels a bit cheap, and the device gets a little loud when under pressure.

Final verdict

The Lenovo Yoga 920 is another triumphant 2-in-1 design in a year that’s seen the form factor go from strength to strength. It features a lovely premium design, it’s thin and light, and it performs day-to-day tasks well.

The integrated graphics do mean it’s a little weak when it comes to graphically-intensive tasks like video-editing and gaming, but it’s a price you’ll have to pay for a device this thin.

It also helps to keep the price (relatively) low. This isn’t a budget laptop in any way, but it offers very good value for the price, and it comes in a lot cheaper than some of its high-end competitors.

Overall, we really enjoyed our time with the Yoga 920. If you’re looking for a thin, light and capable laptop that can occasionally transform into a tablet, it's definitely worth considering.

]]>Foxtel Now Boxhttp://www.techradar.com/reviews/foxtel-now-box
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/foxtel-now-boxThe Foxtel Now Box will let you stream a number of Aussie services, including Stan in 4K, for less than a hundred bucks. Tue, 05 Dec 2017 23:05:38 +0000techradar.comHaving tried its hand at a number of different streaming apps in the past, it seems that Foxtel has finally found its groove with Foxtel Now – easily the most approachable on-demand service the Australian pay TV company has launched to date.

In what is definitely a good sign for the future of the service, Foxtel has committed even further to its ongoing success with the arrival of the Foxtel Now Box, a physical streaming device that provides users with the cheapest and easiest way to access Foxtel Now on a TV to date.

The prospect of a 4K-capable streaming box that costs less than $100 and also provides access to a number of other Australian services is pretty tempting, but how does it perform, and is it worth the money if you already have a recent gaming console?

Design

Shipping in a cube-shaped box, the Foxtel Now Box makes an immediate impression as soon as you flip the package's lid open to reveal the unit sitting comfortably inside.

Though the device is sitting in a small ditch, it's only around a centimetre deep, meaning that what you see when you open the box is how it will look when sitting on your shelf or entertainment cabinet.

The device itself is small (104 x 83 x 72mm), light (0.270kg), cylindrical and feels sturdy, thanks to most of its weight being found in its base.

Clicking in the front part of the unit's topside will turn the Box on, and that's about it when it comes to moving parts.

The unit has a matte black finish, with glossy rings at the top and bottom of the device giving it a bit of pizzazz. You'll find the dots from the Foxtel Now logo embossed on the unit's face – depending on the lighting in your room, you might not even see them.

A view of the Foxtel Now box from behind

Around the back of the device there's a number of inputs, one of which is not commonly found on media boxes. We're talking, of course, about the Foxtel Now Box's RF-connector port, which allows you to plug an antenna cable in and use the device to watch free-to-air television via a built-in digital TV tuner.

Power is supplied to the unit's standard 12V DC socket (and there's an adapter included in the box), and if you don't have decent Wi-Fi to connect to, it's also got an Ethernet networking port.

Video and audio output is handled through the device's HDMI 2.0 with HDCP 2.2 port (cable also included), and if you need optical audio out, S/PDIF is also available. Finally, the Foxtel Now Box also has a USB 3.0 port, allowing you to plug in a FAT32-formatted hard drive (we had no such luck with other filesystems like exFAT or NTFS) and play local media.

On the side of the unit, you'll also find a microSD slot, giving you some extra space for apps should you fill up the 8GB of internal storage that's already provided.

Interface and performance

Once you've gone through a relatively brisk setup process that involves pairing the device's remote via Bluetooth for improved accuracy, logging into the Foxtel Now service and linking your Google account (which is necessary for downloading additional apps from the Google Play Store), the Box will boot directly into the Foxtel Now homepage.

This was a bit surprising, as we were expecting to be greeted with the familiar Android TV interface that the Foxtel Now Box runs on. Admittedly, we spent a few minutes trying to get to the Android TV home screen before realising that was impossible.

Instead, the Box has devoted an entire row to installed apps on the Foxtel Now home screen. It's a little strange, seeing apps like YouTube and Stan mixed in with the likes of Keeping up with the Kardashians and The Walking Dead, but you can't fault Foxtel for wanting to make its streaming service the centre of the Box experience.

Apps get their own line amongst other Foxtel Now content

We have to wonder whether it would've been better to have Apps moved to its own tab on the home screen, alongside other tabs like Live TV, On Demand and Kids. At the moment, it's placed amongst Foxtel's content as if it were a genre, which may be easy to lose track of.

Elsewhere, the interface appears just as it does on the standard Foxtel Now app, with shows and movies laid out in horizontally-scrolling tiles. This'll be familiar to anyone that's used other streaming services.

The Live TV tab lets you watch, you guessed it, live TV, with the ability to scroll through the various Foxtel and free-to-air channels (provided you have an antenna plugged in) that are available to you. Switching is instantaneous and content is generally delivered in HD, depending on the show's source material.

In fact, the Foxtel Now Box feels snappy at all times. The home screen boots up almost instantly as soon as the unit is switched on, and browsing in general feels smooth all round. Installed apps also boot up fast, too – we were able to watch HD content from a USB-connected hard drive through VLC with very little trouble.

What's streaming?

As we mentioned in our in depth Foxtel Now review, there's just no beating the service when it comes to the sheer breadth of its content... provided you've signed up to multiple content packages, which often comes at great expense.

Kids have a wealth of content available to them thanks to Foxtel's partnerships with Disney and Nickelodeon. Reality TV fans will find that the selection on Foxtel Now rivals the likes of dedicated services like Hayu. And, when you take into account the live TV aspect of Foxtel Now, its sports content is absolutely unbeatable.

Fans of premium television will also be astonished by the amount of content at their fingertips, especially HBO shows like Game of Thrones, Westworld and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Admittedly, the service had a rough launch when it came to the delivery of its fast-tracked Game of Thrones episodes, though this has improved somewhat since then. Let's hope Foxtel and HBO have everything in order when the show returns for its final season.

As for films, the On Demand section of the app houses a large number of fairly recent movies, as well as a selection of older classics.

The Foxtel Now Box comes with a remote that's simple, yet functional

But that's just the Foxtel content. A number of apps come pre-installed on the device, including YouTube, catchup services like ABC iview and Tenplay, and even the Foxtel Now competitor, Stan.

We have to admit, we were disappointed to find the the Foxtel Now Box lacked a native Netflix app (according to Foxtel CEO Peter Tonagh, it was Netflix's decision to not be included), though you can still use the device's built-in Chromecast Ultra functionality to stream the service in 4K directly to your television – presuming it doesn't already have its own dedicated Netflix app.

Sadly, the same can't be said for Amazon Prime Video, which is not available on the Foxtel Now Box in any form.

Likewise, the YouTube and Stan apps can also be streamed in 4K (and at 60fps, in the case of the former). The ability to install Plex means you can also stream content to your television from a server, and while you can find Kodi in the Google Play Store, you won't be able to download it.

We liked

The Foxtel Now Box is a snappy streaming media box that does exactly what you'd expect it to do. Easily the most direct way to access Foxtel Now for those who don't own a PS4, it's hard to argue with the device's extremely low $99 price point – especially when you consider that it offers access to live TV and full Chromecast Ultra functionality.

If you've always wanted to get Foxtel but without the installation and contract hurdles that usually entails, the Foxtel Now Box is a terrific alternative.

We disliked

While it's incredibly easily to get started on Foxtel Now, it'll start to cost you if you want anything more than the basic starter packages.

It's also a shame that there's no native app for Netflix and that Amazon Prime Video is not available in any form.

The location of our installed Android TV apps also wasn't immediately apparent. We'd have preferred a dedicated Apps tab on the front page, rather than having them mixed in with Foxtel Now's other content.

Final verdict

When it comes to value for money, the Foxtel Now Box is a terrific streaming product. When you combine all of the functionality it does provide, including access to live TV and full Chromecast Ultra functionality, it's easy to overlook the services that are missing from the overall package.

If you've been looking to sign up to Foxtel Now but don't already have a device that will let you access it, the Foxtel Now Box is an affordable solution that doesn't sacrifice on quality.

]]>Asus NovaGohttp://www.techradar.com/reviews/asus-novago
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/asus-novagoThe NovaGo promises to be always on, always connected and offer up to 22 hours of battery life.Tue, 05 Dec 2017 22:10:04 +0000techradar.comThe Asus NovaGo is future of laptops, even if it looks a lot like other 2-in-1 foldable notebooks on the outside.

It the first 'Always Connected' Gigabit Windows laptop and boasts better than all-day battery life thanks to its Snapdragon 835 chipset and Snapdragon X16 LTE modem.

This means we're now seeing a laptop capable of 1Gbps speeds, which are three to seven times faster than your broadband speeds at home, depending on where you live.

No need to tether with a smartphone, and no need to deal with offline mode in documents as this always-connected Windows machine has a built-in eSIM, plus a battery that's capable of up to 22 hours of video playback.

It almost sounds too good to be true, so we've gone hands on with the NovaGo to see if the early signs are positive.

Asus Nova Go price and release date

The Asus NovaGo price starts at just $599 for the 4GB of RAM with 64GB of storage variant, while you’re looking at $799 for the 8GB/256GB model.

Asus tells us that it will also offer a 128GB of storage option, and there may be a 6GB of RAM configuration available too, but it will vary depending on regions and what retailers want in terms of spec.

What it does mean is the Asus NovaGo is cheaper than some of the flagship Android smartphones that also feature Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 chipset, which puts it into a reasonably affordable category.

There's currently no firm Asus NovaGo release date, but an Asus spokesperson told us that it's expected to arrive in early Spring in the US, while it's likely to arrive in Europe (the UK, France, Germany and Italy) during Q2 of 2018.

Design

The Asus NovaGo is built for mobility, affordability and longevity, so it doesn't do anything to innovate on the 2-in-1 foldable designs we've seen over the last two years.

The plastic design of this 13.3-inch laptop doesn't stand out from ultra-slim laptops encases in aluminum like the 13-inch MacBook or the Dell XPS 13, but it's not all bad news. There is something the NovaGo does have. Ports.

Asus NovaGo hands on gallery

While other computer manufacturers are shedding standardize ports in favor of newer USB-C options, and them alone, the Asus NovaGo kicks it old-school with two USB 3 Type-A ports, an audio jack, an HDMI port and a microSD card slot.

The chipset behind the Asus NovaGo comes straight from smartphones, so we were into the fact that the volume and power keys are aligned along the right side of the laptop. This is shaping up to be the always-connected laptop counterpart to a smartphone in so many ways.

Its metal hinges feel strong and allow the laptop fold back for the Windows 10 tablet and tent modes. We were able to test out Microsoft Paint with a stylus in this mode and it also takes advantage of Windows Ink (not available in our demo).

Windows Hello face unlock sign-in and video conferencing are possible through the 1MP HD front camera that has a 1280 x 720 resolution and f2.0 aperture lens. There's also a fingerprint sensor embedded in the quite spacious, clickable trackpad.

Display

The Asus NovaGo features a 13.3-inch full HD display which is bright and clear thanks to the LED back-lit panel, although it's not going to blow you away with eye-popping visuals.

We found the screen glass to be pretty reflective, which could well cause trouble in bright light, but the 1920 x 1080 resolution is good enough for most tasks on the device, including touch screen input, text entry and even stylus usage.

Power and performance

The Asus NovaGo doesn't feature a traditional PC chipset, instead relying on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 SoC more commonly found in flagship smartphones such as the LG V30, HTC U11 Plus and the US variant of the Samsung Galaxy S8.

Performance then is unproven, and during our hands on time with the NovaGo we were unable to run our in-depth benchmark tests to see just how well it can do. This is something we will do during our full review of the NovaGo though, so keep an eye out for that in the coming months.

For now though, even with the top tier 8GB of RAM, we have our reservations about just how powerful this laptop can be. It's certainly not a gaming machine, as it'll likely be more at home with Solitaire rather than PUBG, but we were able to load up Word, Paint and the Edge browser without any hassle.

What's really cool about the Snapdragon power though is the NovaGo's always-on state. If you don't shut down the device, and instead just close the lid it has a similar effect to locking your smartphone screen.

Open the lid back up, and you're instantly transported right back to where you left off. There's no loading icon or a wait while it exits hibernation - it's ready to go right away.

Early verdict

The Asus NovaGo presents a glimpse of an always-connected laptop future with what promises to be stellar battery life, mixed with last year's smartphone chipset and older ports.

It has us excited for what this laptop eliminates more than it introduces. Not having to connect to unsecure Wi-Fi, setup a hotspot or worry as much about battery life is a brilliant change that makes it possible to use this laptop anyway.

Performance is the wildcard. How does Qualcomm's smartphone chipset backed by a lot of RAM compare to laptop that have the usual Intel CPUs at the heart?

That's going to require more testing of the Asus NovaGo in a full review coming soon.

]]>HP Envy x2 (2017)http://www.techradar.com/reviews/hp-envy-x2-2017
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/hp-envy-x2-2017HP’s latest premium Windows 10 tablet looks and feels impressive, but Qualcomm’s heady promises have yet to be tested.Tue, 05 Dec 2017 20:42:59 +0000techradar.comWe’ve been looking forward to Qualcomm’s long-promised entry into the Windows 10 laptop and tablet space. However, we were equally worried its launch would simply lead to another swath of cheap Windows 10 S devices designed to compete with Chromebooks.

Thankfully though, the HP Envy x2 has alleviated all of our concerns with its impeccably thin and ambitiously premium design.

What’s more, with the lofty promise of a 20-hour battery life and the fact that it’s actually lighter than an iPad Pro, this could well be the Windows 10 tablet to rival - and potentially replace - Apple’s ever-popular slate.

Design

Measuring in at an incredibly thin 6.9mm and weighing just 1.54 pounds, the Envy x2 is actually lighter than the iPad Pro. Not only will that put less stress on your back and shoulders as you carry it around, you'll get a bigger 12.3-inch display with a WUXGA 1920 x 1280 resolution display to boot.

If you're concerned about the keyboard, it's as tactile anything you’ll find on bonafide laptop thanks to it offering 1.3mm of key travel. The HP Envy x2 also has one of the best designed keyboard folio’s we’ve seen on a 2-in-1 tablet.

The case magnetizes to both the back and bottom lip of the tablet, while folding down the top section to act as a kickstand. Thanks to all of this extra stabilization, we didn’t have any of the stability problems we encountered on the Samsung Galaxy Book and Huawei MateBook E.

Moving onto the chassis, the HP Envy x2 sports a sharp and clean design that could be easily mistaken for the company’s even more premium Spectre line. This is thanks to HP going with a completely metal unibody chassis with an anodized finish that feels rugged enough to shrug off scratches.

Features

Of course the other headlining feature of this tablet is the fact that it's powered by a Snapdragon 835 processor, the very same chip that has powered some of 2017’s top smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S8.

While this might seem like it wouldn’t offer enough performance to power the full fat Windows 10 S operating system that comes baked in, the tablet performed admirably as we navigated the interface and used Microsoft’s Office applications and browsing the web on Edge.

HP and Qualcomm promise a 20-hour battery life on the HP Envy x2, and while it's a lofty promise, if it’s true this could well be the longest-lasting Windows 10 device we’ve ever tested. Last but not least, one big advantage the Snapdragon 835 chip offers is a built-in LTE antenna that will be invaluable to users on the go, who don’t have a problem with adding another device to their data plan.

The HP Envy x2 is otherwise as well specced as any Intel-powered Windows machine with up to 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.

Compared to other Intel-powered tablets, Qualcomm is offering an incredible value - especially when stacked against the market leader, the Surface Pro.

Early verdict

The HP Envy x2 is an eye-catching device all on its own with a sharply designed and ultra-premium body. Factor in the incredible battery life and potential affordability Qualcomm Snapdragon processor brings – going off how affordable the Asus Novago is at least – and we could see a big shake up for laptops in 2018.

We’re reporting live from Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, bringing you the latest news, features and hands on reviews on the future of smartphones, laptops, 5G and IoT. You can follow all our coverage here.

]]>Marshall Stanmore Multi-room Speakerhttp://www.techradar.com/reviews/marshall-stanmore-multi-room-speaker
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/marshall-stanmore-multi-room-speakerAirPlay, ChromeCast and Spotify Connect tunes adorn this iconic, capable and very loud Wi-Fi hi-fi.Mon, 04 Dec 2017 16:41:43 +0000techradar.comEditor's note: Now that we've had a chance to try the Stanmore out in parallel with both the Acton and Woburn we've been able to establish its abilities as a purely multi-room speaker. With all its functionality tested, we've now upgraded the review from a hands on preview to a full review complete with a score.

Review continues below...

Have you ever been to a gig that doesn't have a Marshall speaker somewhere on the stage? Renowned for its guitar amps it may be, but the Marshall brand is here used to sell multi-room music under the auspices of Zound Industries.

And the result is a classic rock sound. Wireless Bluetooth speakers may be all the rage, but Zound recently upgraded all of its Marshall speakers by adding Wi-Fi, instantly bringing into play must-have lossless streaming features like AirPlay, ChromeCast and Spotify Connect. However, Bluetooth remains on all Marshall speakers, too.

Not that you'll be taking the upgraded Stanmore speaker anywhere but into your living room or kitchen for a permanent stay. The middle-sized of Marshall's three refreshed multi-room speakers, the Stanmore boasts a chunky, amp-like design, as does the even bigger Woburn speaker, with only the smaller Acton designed for mobility.

Crucially, none of them come with a remote control, instead relying solely on the free Marshall Multi-Room app. There are people who would never pay $450 (£399 / AU$573) for a music system without a dedicated remote control, but it's completely understandable given that the Stanmore's standout features all rely on its phone-based capabilities.

Design

At 350x185x185mm and 4.7kg, the Stanmore is a beast. It may be small for a guitar amp, but as far as Bluetooth and multi-room speakers go it's incredibly large. The Stanmore is all about the big sound, and we get that. This is a Marshall product, after all.

Made from wood, and covered in black vinyl just like an amp, the Stanmore has familiar rounded corners, a flexible speaker grille with gold edging, and intensely retro brass knobs on the top. It may lack a remote control, but the Stanmore's volume, bass, treble and source knobs are a stylistic stand-out.

The iconic Marshall brass knobs are a great design touch.

Nearby are two tiny track-skip buttons and a 3.5 mm aux. input for attaching a phone, laptop or a turntable. There's also a button for toggling between its multi-room and single source modes. On the back, there's a right and left-channel RCA audio inputs, intended for a turntable. So despite its plethora of connections – more than a Sonos Play:5, for sure – the Stanmore cuts a streamlined, if retro look.

Features

Design-wise it might be from the 1970s, but on the inside the Stanmore is all about connectivity, with WiFi the big addition alongside the existing Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity.

Chromecast, Spotify Connect and AirPlay compatible, the Stanmore has Internet radio, too; all of that is configured via the Marshall Multi-Room app. Inside the Stanmore are a 50W class D amplifier for the woofer and two 15W class D amplifiers for the tweeters. That's 80W in total; we're expecting some big noise.

Set-up

If you want get the Stanmore up and running immediately, it's to Bluetooth you should head. A quick flick to Bluetooth mode on the top dial, easy pairing, and you're away. As it successfully pairs, an audible guitar riff plays through the Stanmore's speaker. It's a bit naff, but it's short.

Connecting via AirPlay took a little longer, but eventually we linked it to WiFi over a 2.4 GHz connection. Once that was done it was all about the app. You can choose which mode you put it into via the app, but critical for proper personalisation are the seven presets where you can store shortcuts to specific Internet radio stations, podcasts, or Spotify playlists.

That does make it a lot easier to navigate and use quickly, particularly since you can toggle between them on the source dial on top of the Stanmore as well as via the app. There's also a simple equaliser section within the app where you can change the volume, bass and treble levels of the Stanmore.

The companion app can be used to set up specific audio profiles.

Performance

For all its iconic design riffs, the Stanmore is all about sound quality. The advantage of using WiFi is, of course, lossless sound quality, and it's here that the Stanmore really excels.

While Bluetooth music lacks depth and width, tunes streamed to the Stanmore first via AirPlay and then via Spotify from an iPhone were exceptionally full, with vocals detailed and bass-lines given a tremendous lift.

We especially liked the way the bass and treble knobs bring only a slight tweak to the overall sound, showing the maker's well-placed confidence in its overall balance. Left about half-way they lend the sound field a lot of accuracy no matter what you're listening to.

Ditto for volume, which goes extremely loud. Far too loud, in fact, for any room in your house - though there's zero distortion. A tiny criticism is that AirPlay tracks take a second or two to start on the Stanmore, and we also noticed the occasional double-start (but that could have been our WiFi network).

However, the speaker works well as part of a multi-room setup. We got the Stanmore playing alongside both its siblings (the Acton and Woburn) and our chosen track played perfectly in sync across the three speakers.

A 3.5mm jack is included if you'd like to hardwire your music source.

Verdict

What we most like about the Stanmore is its sound quality. Okay, so it comes at the cost of having to house a rather big, bulky speaker on your bookshelf, but that's a small price to pay for some well-rounded, detailed, but most of all, bassy and loud tunes we've ever streamed from phone. We also loved the styling, especially the brass knobs, which make it easy to control when your phone is otherwise disposed – or it's being controlled by someone else's phone.

That said, its lack of remote control is going to bother some people, especially those that use the Stanmore as a single speaker, with a turntable attached. And while we're not saying that the Marshall isn't worth that high price – it sounds great and the build quality is excellent – does anyone really want to pay that much for a Wi-fi Hi-Fi?

Here's a great example of a wireless multi-room speaker that is excellent, but over-specified for most users. We love the fact that you can daisy-chain it to other products from Marshall, and the sound quality is consistently excellent. The recognisable and thoroughly iconic design is great, too, and will especially suit anyone with a musical heritage. Set-up was reasonably easy and the lossless sound quality impressive. The lack of a remote control may bother some, but the brass buttons on the device itself are very pleasing to the eye, as well as being functional. We loved 'em.

However, the 80W Stanmore is expensive – not over-priced, but over-specified – because it will almost certainly be too powerful a speaker for your living room or kitchen. If you want power and a unique look, though, the Stanmore is really hard to match for multi-room.

]]>Ultimate Ears Megablast Alexa smart speakerhttp://www.techradar.com/reviews/ultimate-ears-megablast-alexa-smart-speaker
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/ultimate-ears-megablast-alexa-smart-speakerWith the Megablast Ultimate Ears has finally allowed Amazon's Alexa to roam free. But it's not quite as perfect as we hoped.Mon, 04 Dec 2017 14:48:18 +0000techradar.com“If you’re looking for Alexa, she’s in the bath with me” is not a sentence we ever pictured ourselves uttering but it’s actually become surprisingly common since we started reviewing the new Ultimate Ears Megablast.

Ultimate Ears is a brand known for its excellent and sturdy Bluetooth speakers and with its new Megablast it’s thrown Amazon’s Alexa smart assistant into the mix.

With the Megablast you get the 360 degree sound, portability and durability of the excellent UE Boom speaker with the smarts of an Echo. It’s a marriage made in speaker heaven.

Design

It makes a lot of sense to combine a Bluetooth speaker with a smart home speaker – it takes away the need to have two devices where one could do. And if we could have had one brand make it happen it would certainly have been Ultimate Ears.

As far as design is concerned, the Megablast looks good. Yes it’s chunky, but its tall cylindrical shape means it looks simultaneously robust and neat. You wouldn’t fly into a panic if it fell from its table - this is a speaker that can handle itself.

It’s also nice to see a smart home speaker in colors that aren’t black or white but are still home friendly. Ultimate Ears has created some muted jewel tones in yellow, blue, red, and green which make things a little more interesting. There are, of course, black and white options available if you'd prefer to play it safe.

Performance and features

UE Megablast is the smart home speaker dream for young families. It's multifunctional and its robust design means it can take the inevitable accidental beating that it’ll get from being in a home with a young child. It's not cheap - at $299.99 / £269.99 convenience and peace of mind come at a steep cost.

Admittedly, we don’t have a young child but as careless young adults we also greatly appreciated it. When you throw a house party with the Megablast, you don’t feel the need to cordon off the part of the room it’s in. You’re actually more likely to find yourself pulling the basin from the kitchen to show your guests that it can still play music submerged in water.

While it has great potential and many positives, though, the Megablast certainly isn’t perfect. Fortunately, some of its biggest issues aren’t permanent.

App light

The most notable issue with the Megablast is that unlike an actual Echo speaker it doesn’t support popular music streaming apps like Spotify and Apple Music – you’re pretty much limited to Amazon Music. You can still use these services over a Bluetooth connection but you can’t use Alexa to control them with your voice.

Perhaps to offset this limitation, Ultimate Ears has made it so that anyone that purchases a Blast speaker gets three months of Amazon’s Music service for free, but we're unlikely to cancel our Spotify subscription anytime soon.

If you’ve already got a music streaming subscription for a service like Spotify where you’ve been steadily building up personalised playlists, it is somewhat galling that you can’t ask Alexa to put one of them on. Particularly when a standard Echo speaker would be able to do so.

We did, however, ask a UE rep whether or not other streaming services would be coming in the future and we were told that it’s in the pipeline, but there’s no exact time frame just yet.

Speaking of apps, controlling the Megablast will require two - Ultimate Ears' own app for set up and minor controls like volume, and the main Alexa app for Alexa customisation and skill installation. This isn't the most simple and streamlined approach in the world, but we didn't find it grating as post-setup neither app was required especially often.

A social network

Another thing that will come in a future update is speaker linking. At the moment it’s not possible to link your Megablast speaker to any other Ultimate Ears device. This is something that’s possible with earlier Ultimate Ears models and is a big advantage that Sonos systems have. Fortunately, Ultimate Ears has said that it’ll make networking possible in a future software update.

It’s not clear whether it’ll be possible to only link the new blast models together or whether older models will also be able to be linked up but both would be welcome for multi-room voice controls if not simply multi-room sound.

Regardless, having this function would make the Ultimate Ears’ system preferable to Sonos’ as not only would you get the networking capabilities, you’d get the portability and durability Sonos lacks. You certainly wouldn’t catch us taking our decidedly non-waterproof Sonos speaker into the bathroom.

We're halfway there

It’s hard to call the Megablast a like-for-like Amazon Echo replacement out of the box as it does require that you purchase the sold-separately Power Up dock to truly recreate the Echo experience. This dock connects to the silver D-ring on the base of the speaker and charges it, though unfortunately it won't work with the D-ring on the Boom or Megaboom speakers.

Though the Megablast can run for an impressive 16 hours, without the dock and no music to keep playing it'll go into power saving mode of its own accord. This means that no matter how loudly you shout, Alexa won’t hear you.

Power saving mode is, of course, really useful for a Bluetooth speaker that you’re inclined to leave lying around but it doesn’t make for a particularly convenient smart speaker. While it acts as a charger and an Alexa cradle, purchasing the dock is also an added £34.99/$39.99 to an already expensive speaker.

We did try simply plugging the speaker in via its USB port and leaving it connected in this way but it doesn't look great given the cable sticks straight out of the top. Plus, it's also a problem as the speaker doesn't seem to pick up requests quite as well when it's propped upside down.

With the dock, however, we found that the Megablast was a perfectly good Echo replacement. Not only is its voice recognition as good, the Megablast offers much better sound too.

Sound performance

In terms of sound quality the Megablast delivers excellent 360-degree sound. In every room we used it in it filled the space with sound. Even when we used it in a more open garden space, it didn’t struggle with the higher volume one bit - not only was it able to go loud, it was able to go loud without any discernible distortion. This is probably thanks to the addition two tweeters which make it more able than previous Ultimate Ears speakers to deliver well-rounded high frequency sounds.

Impressively, at a sound level that's on the higher-end of acceptability for indoor listening, the Megablast doesn't fail to register Alexa requests.

Something that’s worth bearing in mind is that you can only access the Megablast’s Alexa capabilities when the speaker is connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot. This isn’t really much of a problem as when you’re outside your home and away from Wi-Fi, you’re unlikely to want to control your smart home devices.

You can still connect to your mobile Wi-Fi hotspot, though, if you want to access Alexa’s hands-free music controls on the go. Without your mobile hotspot or Wi-Fi, this will revert back to a standard Ultimate Ears Bluetooth speaker.

Final verdict

Largely, the Megablast feels like a speaker with some smarts rather than an outright smart speaker but that’s not a bad thing. Ultimate Ears is primarily a speaker brand and with the Megablast it’s done an excellent job. It’s loud, solid, looks great and boasts a stable Bluetooth connectivity.

It’s nice to be able to grab Alexa from the living room where you’ve been using her to control the TV and take her without an issue into the Kitchen to help with recipe measurements, and from there into the bathroom from there to listen to music while you shower.

Then, if you’re going out in the evening to a friend’s party or down into your garden you can take the Megablast with you and Alexa’s functions are just a Wi-Fi connection away. It’s a smart speaker with flexibility which almost makes up for the ways in which it's lacking next to the Echo.

That said, the Amazon Echo is significantly less expensive than this speaker. At $299.99 / £269.99 (and that's not even including the dock) the Megablast will set you back more than the most recent Amazon Echo or a Sonos One speaker.

The Ultimate Ears Megablast feels very much like an excellent speaker with smarts rather than a straightforward smart speaker. If you're looking for some Alexa skills but you're not particularly fussed about having the best and loudest sound or taking your speaker out of your home, it's best to save some money and opt for a cheaper but much more suitable alternative.

Overall, the Megablast is a great addition to the Ultimate Ears lineup and may be its best sounding speaker yet. It hasn’t quite lived up to all of our expectations but when it gets Alexa support for a wider range of music services and can create a multi-room speaker network it’ll be pretty damn close.

The company offers the usual range of software clients, along with a preconfigured router, both of which give you access to the same small network of eight locations: UK, US, Ireland, Germany, Canada, Spain, France and Switzerland.

The website also suggests Liberty Shield can unblock Netflix amongst many other services that might be geo-blocked due to their location.

We're interested in the router, a customized version of the popular MikroTik Hap ac lite box. This comes with five 10/100Mbps Ethernet ports, dual-chain 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, single-chain 802.11ac 5GHz Wi-Fi, and a USB port for 3G/4G modems. There's more detail on the MicroTik site if you need it.

The starting price is attractive at just £29.99 ($37.50) which includes your choice of power supply type (UK, EU, US), free UK shipping for the router and one month of VPN access.

Subscription prices are relatively high, though, ranging from £6.99 ($8.75) per month to an equivalent £5.83 ($7.30) for the annual plan. Liberty Shield's VPN Router still seems reasonably cheap for the first year, but after that it begins to look relatively costly.

There's some compensation in Liberty Shield's comprehensive UK-based customer support. This is open from 9am to 9pm, 7 days a week, and includes live chat, email and support tickets, and even an option to schedule a call-back.

We tested the chat service and got a helpful and friendly response in less than a minute. It's wise to be skeptical of web reviews, but reports on Trustpilot consistently praise Liberty Shield for its customer support.

Support really matters, too, especially with a VPN router where you might add new devices at any time. If you're not the technical type, then spending £20 ($27) more a year to help solve these problems could seem like a good deal.

There is some scope for session logging, as the official privacy policy goes on to explain:

"...we may collect the following information: times when connected to our service, choice of server location, and the total amount of data transferred per day..."

This is a little vague, and not ideal, but it's also not unusual; many VPN providers do something similar.

We browsed the rest of the small print, too, but didn't find anything unusual. It’s the usual stuff: don't do anything illegal, don't breach copyright, don't be a spammer – you know the deal. The contracts all seemed relatively straightforward, with no sneaky clauses to catch you out.

Performance

The Liberty Shield VPN Router arrives in a surprisingly small box, yet it still contains everything you need: router, power supply, a very short Ethernet cable (around 0.25m), along with a tiny Quick Start guide and a card with an allocated login name and password.

The installation guide started off well. Plug one end of the router cable into the VPN box, the other into your regular router, plug in the power cable and wait for it to connect to the internet. Easy.

Unfortunately, the guide didn't tell us what to do next. Should we look for an SSID and try to connect? Access the router from a browser? Do something else? There were no obvious clues.

After spending a few minutes exploring our options, we checked the web version of the support guide and spotted the problem. We weren't missing anything, it was the fault of the printed setup guide, which somehow left out the most crucial line of all:

That's clumsy, but at least we solved the issue quickly. And even if we hadn't, Liberty Shield's excellent support is on hand to offer speedy solutions.

We headed off to the activation page, where a form asked us to enter the login credentials provided with the router. We also had to provide our name and email address to create a Liberty Shield account, and enter the details of the card that would be used for payment. (The first month is free, and if you cancel your subscription before the month is up, you won't be charged anything at all.)

Moments after submitting the form, an email arrived reporting that our router was now activated and ready for use.

Sure enough, the SSID name of the Liberty Shield box was now visible, and we were able to connect to it from a laptop, tablet, phone and TV by entering our allocated wireless password.

By default, our router connected us to a UK VPN server. You can change this, but it takes a little work. There's no local router console, so instead you must go to the Liberty Shield website, log in, choose your preferred location and connection method (VPN or Proxy), save the results, turn your router off, wait a couple of minutes, turn it on and wait for it to reconnect.

The web console offers a few other connection settings – protocol (PPTP by default, L2TP as an option), Wi-Fi SSID and password – but nothing like the power or configurability you'd get with a standalone router.

We started our performance tests* by using a wired connection, hopefully giving us a good idea of the best possible service speeds. Our router was initially set to use our nearest UK server, and this delivered solid results, with download speeds typically ranging from 52-58Mbps on a 75Mbps broadband connection. That's not bad at all, especially as the website suggests the router has a maximum download speed of 30-40Mbps.

Switching to wireless connections showed no real difference on our Windows 10 laptop, which managed to max out its wireless adapter at around 44Mbps.

Our mobile saw a relatively dramatic drop in performance from around 50Mbps when connecting to our regular router, to more like 25Mbps when using Liberty Shield. That was unexpected, but as we couldn't see why, and this isn't an issue that affected other devices, we didn't count it as a significant black mark against the product.

Switching our location to Germany saw speeds fall to around 20-30Mbps on a wired connection, around what we would expect from a regular VPN. UK-US connections were inconsistent and relatively disappointing, ranging anywhere from 6 to 20Mbps.

VPN routers don't have the same data leak issues as software VPN clients because they're not running on top of another device with its own network adapters and settings. We ran our regular privacy tests anyway, and sure enough they didn't reveal anything to be concerned about.

We rounded off our checks by trying to visit a few geo-blocked sites, and found Liberty Shield accessed them without difficulty. There's no guarantee that this situation will last, and sites like Netflix block new VPNs all the time, but at the time of writing, at least, the service works very well.

Final verdict

Liberty Shield VPN Router could work well for novice UK users who just want to plug in and go, but also need quality support to help them quickly fix any problems. This isn't the ideal choice for experts, though, who may be put off by the small server network, lack of features and configurability, and above average subscription price.

*Our testing included evaluating general performance (browsing, streaming video). We also used speedtest.net to measure latency, upload and download speeds, and then tested immediately again with the VPN turned off, to check for any difference (over several rounds of testing). We then compared these results to other VPN services we've reviewed. Of course, do note that VPN performance is difficult to measure as there are so many variables.

]]>GPD Pockethttp://www.techradar.com/reviews/gpd-pocket
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/gpd-pocketThe UMPC (ultra-mobile PC) is back in the form of the small yet perfectly formed GPD Pocket.Fri, 01 Dec 2017 18:00:44 +0000techradar.comAround 10 years ago, the computing world was obsessed with the idea of ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs). Although there were some impressive devices for the time (the Sony Vaio and Toshiba Libretto, for example), the reality was that the technology wasn’t available to make the machines viable for most users.

The small screens were low resolution and low quality, processors were power hungry and ran hot and, most importantly, battery technology meant an hour or two of runtime at best. Now technology has moved on and it’s much more feasible to create tiny PCs, but we don’t tend to see them – smartphones and tablet PCs more commonly fulfil that need.

A relatively unknown Chinese company is looking to change that, with the GPD Pocket mini PC – complete with Ubuntu support. The GPD Pocket was initially launched on crowdfunding site Indiegogo. The campaign not only hit 1,516% of its target with $3.5 million (around £2.6 million) raised, but the firm in question – GPD – was also able to build upon previous experience manufacturing these types of devices to bring the Pocket to fruition (its previous product, the GPD Win, was a popular 5.5-inch Windows-based gaming machine).

Before we dive into the details, it’s important to understand that devices of this type are about compromises. It’s not possible to cram a top-end desktop PC into a tiny chassis, but the key to making a successful product is compromising in the right places so as to provide a good overall experience. So has GPD made the right calls here?

Performance

At the heart of the Pocket sits the Intel Atom x7-Z8750 processor with integrated HD 405 graphics. While your immediate reaction may be to balk at the mention of an Atom processor, it’s worth noting that the Z8750 is a quad-core, 64-bit CPU from the Cherry Trail family, built on the 14nm process with a base 1.6GHz clock speed and burstable 2.56GHz max. Backed by 2MB of on-board cache, the processor proves impressively capable, particularly for a 2W part.

Performance is also helped by 8GB of LPDDR3-1600 memory and 128GB of storage (albeit eMMC rather than SSD). The balance between capability and efficiency is spot on – although claimed battery life is 12 hours, this is more like seven hours in reality, which is still extremely impressive.

The GPD Pocket display is also a particular highlight. The 7-inch 1,920 x 1,200 (16:10 aspect ratio) screen packs 323 pixels per inch and is impressively sharp with responsive multi-touch. The top and bottom bezels are tiny, while the side bezels are larger to facilitate space for the keyboard. Unusually, the Pocket doesn’t include any sort of camera at all, so video calls are out of the question.

Selecting the right hardware might be the simple part of the equation when compared to getting the keyboard right. There’s simply no avoiding the fact that there’s not a lot of space for a full keyboard and so input on the Pocket will take some getting used to. The layout is somewhat shifted to the left, some of the key sizes are a little unusual and of course things are more cramped than on a conventional QWERTY.

Crucially, though, the keys have plenty of travel and are responsive – after a few hours of typing, you’ll be surprised at how good the machine is to use. The keys are far superior in feel to devices such as Apple’s MacBook, for example.

A healthy array of ports provide excellent connectivity – charging is via the USB Type-C port and USB-A is still present. A good old-fashioned 3.5mm headphone jack is included, as is a micro-HDMI port allowing you to use the Pocket to power a larger screen.

GPD initially shipped the Pocket with Windows 10 Home before making an Ubuntu 16.04 image available. The factory image works fine, but the best aspect of the machine is the excellent community-based support (primarily via /r/gpdpocket on Reddit) that has already sprung to life. Images to install multiple versions of Linux are available, with full hardware support and improved performance over stock.

A vibrant discussion around software and hardware tweaks serves to make the Pocket an even better enthusiast’s machine than it already is.

Final verdict

The GPD Pocket is a compromise – this type of product always will be – but it’s done well. As a full PC experience you can fit in your jacket pocket, nothing else really comes close. Windows on ARM will drive new devices in this form factor, though, so the market is set to explode in the near future.

(This review was first published in issue 184 of Linux User & Developer).